Robinhood Markets, a popular trading platform, announced Thursday that it is acquiring Bitstamp, the leading UK-based regulated crypto exchange. The cost of the acquisition is around $200 million and is Robinhood’s largest deal to date.Established in 2011, Bitstamp is a familiar name among crypto investors worldwide. The exchange has a strong presence in Europe and Asia, offering over 85 tradeable assets and features such as staking and lending. It is also one of the most trusted platforms with 50 active licenses and registrations worldwide.With the latest acquisition, Robinhood aims to become a full-fledged financial services provider and compete with giants like Coinbase and Binance. Bitstamp will be Robinhood’s first institutional business.
“We are in our early days in the EU and we are excited to keep expanding there and beyond. The acquisition of Bitstamp will accelerate our global expansion,” stated Johann Kerbrat, Vice President and General Manager of Robinhood Crypto.
Expected to be finalized in the first half of 2025, the acquisition comes amid a period of rapid growth for Robinhood’s crypto division, although it faces regulatory challenges in the US.Robinhood Crypto received a Wells Notice from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month. The SEC has alleged that Robinhood is operating an unregistered exchange by allowing the sale of certain crypto tokens considered investment securities.Robinhood’s chief legal officer, Dan Gallagher, expressed disappointment at the SEC’s decision to issue a warning and asserted that the assets listed on Robinhood are not securities.Despite the ongoing challenges, Robinhood asserted that it would maintain a cooperative relationship with regulators.
