Robinhood Markets Inc. is set to acquire cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp for around $200million in cash, in a bid to accelerate its worldwide crypto expansion.
Bitstamp was established in 2011 and operates offices across Luxembourg, the UK, Slovenia, Singapore, and the US. It boasts over 50 active licenses and registrations globally and has a diverse customer base spanning the European Union, United Kingdom, United States, and Asia.
This acquisition signifies Robinhood’s first foray into institutional business. Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood Cryptos general manager, said: “Bitstamp’s highly trusted and long standing global exchange has shown resilience through market cycles.
“By seamlessly coupling customer experience with safety across geographies, the Bitstamp team has established one of the strongest reputations across retail and institutional crypto investors. Through this strategic combination, we are better positioned to expand our footprint outside of the US and welcome institutional customers to Robinhood.”
The transaction is predicted to conclude within the initial half of the following year. This development follows news from Robinhood Markets last month that it had received notification from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding alleged securities breaches at its crypto division.
The company said in a regulatory filing that it received investigative subpoenas from the SEC about issues including cryptocurrency listings, custody of cryptocurrencies, and platform operations. Robinhood Crypto has been cooperative with the investigation, according to the company. Shares in Robinhood Markets saw a rise of over 2% before the market opened.
