Robin Hood It officially shut down BitStamp’s $200 million acquisition, doubles one of the world’s longest-running cryptocurrency exchanges, showing a strategic change in the institutional world beyond retail trading.
The full-speed transaction, first announced last year, includes Robinhood’s immediate international footprint, including over 50 active cryptographic licenses across Europe, the UK and Asia, as well as an established institutional customer base that has long been missing from retail trading apps.
For Robinhood, the transaction will migrate to facility cryptographic flows, lending and staking infrastructure, and white-labeled “loaning and staking infrastructure, and white-label” products built for hedge funds, fintechs and registered investment advisors.
“I don’t necessarily call it a pivot,” Johann Carblatt, general manager of Robinhood Crypto, told CNBC. “For us, it combines the strengths of two businesses. We are one of the largest retail markets in the US. There are products we don’t have, such as order forms, crypto as a service, advanced APIs and lending and staking.
Having launched Crypto Trading in 2018 and helped drive Meme-Coin Mania in 2021, Robinhood has been working on reforming as a serious player in the next phase of digital asset finance in recent months.
“As we start to see clarity in regulations from Congress and the administration, more and more agencies will want to enter the code,” Carblatt said.
Bit stamp trading gives it a head start.
Founded in 2011, BitStamp is known for its deep fluidity, compliance and minimalist approach. Although not flashy, BitStamp has overcome multiple market cycles and has built long-standing relationships with institutional partners in Europe and Asia. This is planned to be utilized by Robinhood.
Earlier this month, Robinhood acquired Canadian crypto company Wonderfi to leverage Canada’s established user base.
“Robinhood is a market. It doesn’t match the order. At BitStamp, we have a robust product product that allows us to build more on the active traders and advanced traders side,” Carblatt said.
“It’s going to be a huge step for us and really diversify our crypto business, from US retail to global products,” he said.
It also gives Robinhood a regulatory lamp to Europe. There, the rules of cryptography are clear compared to the fragmented approach in the US.
The company has confirmed that it will investigate deep integration over time, maintaining the existing interface and operation of BitStamp. BitStamp is already being used behind the scenes for smart order routing through Robinhood Ledger, the Robinhood agency’s web platform.
“The flow we’re sending to BitStamp makes BitStamp more lively and attracts more institutions,” says Kerbrat.
The acquisition closes at a critical moment for Robin Hood.
Fintech players continue to grow aggressively, with new token lists, staking launches and international product developments. BitStamp’s regulatory track record and licensing portfolio may provide a measure of insulation as Robinhood is pushing further into the new international market.
Carblatt said it would not rule out other potential acquisitions.
“If we can find a way to accelerate by at least 18 months or two, there are many big reasons to believe this is a big acquisition, and that’s definitely something we’re seeing,” he said.
