Markets
Robinhood to Acquire Bitstamp Exchange for $200 Million with Aim to Become “On-Ramp to Cryptocurrency” – DL News
- The deal is worth $200 million in cash and is expected to close in 2025.
- Bitstamp has hosted more than $232 billion in trading volume today.
Robinhood said it will acquire Bitstamp, one of the industry’s oldest cryptocurrency exchanges, expanding the stock trading app’s crypto footprint.
According to Robinhood, the acquisition is worth around $200 million announcement. The deal is expected to close in 2025.
“Through this strategic combination, we are better positioned to expand our presence outside the United States and welcome institutional clients to Robinhood,” said Johan Kerbrat, general manager of Robinhood Crypto, in the announcement.
Robinhood’s acquisition highlights how a number of fintech companies, such as Revout, BandAND PayPal – are making cryptocurrencies a cornerstone of their business.
However, the fintech has also found itself in the crosshairs of the Securities and Exchange Commission due to its crypto services.
Robinhood’s crypto push
Robinhood bets big on cryptocurrencies.
Kerbrat said DL News it wants to be “the access ramp to the world of cryptocurrencies”.
DL News recently revealed that the stock trading app is recruiting for itself crypto team on the back of launch a cryptocurrency trading service in the European Union and expansion its crypto wallet with an Arbitrum add-on.
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The efforts are bearing fruit.
Before the Bitstamp acquisition came online, research firm Bernstein valued that Robinhood’s crypto push would catapult its market capitalization to around $26 billion in 2025, up from nearly $19 billion today.
The company’s crypto arm led its growth in the final quarter of 2023, with cryptocurrency revenue rising to $43 million of the company’s total $200 million in transaction-based revenue.
For 2023 Overall, cryptocurrencies account for 17% of the company’s $785 million in transaction-based revenue.
The new acquisition fits in this direction.
What is Bitstamp?
Bitstamp presents itself as one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, having been founded in 2011.
Today it serves users in Asia, the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom. It also already offers services such as lending and staking, which are key components of cryptocurrency markets after buying and selling tokens.
According to the data, the exchange recorded a trading volume of over $232 million in the last day CoinGecko.
The SEC
The announcement comes as the SEC made Robinhood a target due to its cryptocurrency business.
In a May 8-K filing, Robinhood revealed that the SEC had contacted the company to inform it of its recommendation to take enforcement action.
The markets watchdog said Robinhood offered unregistered securities allowing users to buy and sell various cryptocurrencies, a line of reasoning found in its actions against Coinbase and Consensys.
“We firmly believe that the assets listed on our platform are not securities,” Dan Gallagher, Robinhood’s chief legal officer, said at the time.
Robinhood did not immediately respond DL News‘ request for comment.
Liam Kelly is a DeFi correspondent at DL News. Eric Johansson is the news editor of DL News. Do you have advice? Send them via email to liam@dlnews.com AND eric@dlnews.com.