Robinhood Seals $200M Bitstamp Deal—Institutional Crypto Era Begins
Robinhood Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOD) announced on June 2 that it had finalized the acquisition of Bitstamp Ltd., one of the longest-operating global cryptocurrency exchanges. The $200 million cash deal, which had been previously disclosed and was first announced in June 2024, significantly broadens Robinhood’s crypto reach and marks its formal entry into the institutional digital asset market. Bitstamp, founded in 2011, maintains operations in Luxembourg, the UK, Slovenia, Singapore, and the U.S., and holds over 50 active licenses and registrations worldwide. The acquisition adds hundreds of thousands of retail users and thousands of institutional clients across the European Union, United Kingdom, United States, and Asia to Robinhood’s ecosystem.
Vlad Tenev, CEO and co-founder of Robinhood, commented on social media platform X:
Bitstamp is now part of Robinhood, adding a globally-scaled crypto exchange and our first-ever institutional crypto business. Our work is just beginning.
This milestone brings crypto-as-a-service, staking, institutional lending, and a deep liquidity platform to Robinhood’s product lineup. Johann Kerbrat, General Manager of Robinhood Crypto, emphasized Bitstamp’s track record: “The acquisition of Bitstamp is a major step in growing our crypto business. 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.”
Bitstamp CEO Jean-Baptiste Graftieaux underscored the alignment between the two companies: “As the world’s longest running cryptocurrency exchange, Bitstamp is known as one of the most-trusted and transparent crypto platforms worldwide. Bringing Bitstamp’s platform and expertise into Robinhood’s ecosystem will give users an enhanced trading experience with a continuing commitment to compliance, security, and customer-centricity.” Robinhood also stated that Bitstamp’s team will be fully integrated to support global innovation. Robinhood Crypto LLC remains licensed by the New York State Department of Financial Services to conduct virtual currency business activity.
