Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD) has officially completed its $200 million cash acquisition of Bitstamp, the world’s longest-running cryptocurrency exchange. The deal, first announced in June 2024, gives Robinhood over 50 crypto licenses and registrations, a robust institutional client base, and global exposure across Europe, the UK, and Asia.
The acquisition was finalized on June 2, marking a major milestone in Robinhood’s crypto expansion strategy. Bitstamp currently serves over 5,000 institutional clients and 50,000 retail users, with the majority of its trading volume coming from institutional activity.
Key Financials and Strategic Impact
- The $200 million transaction was paid entirely in cash.
- Bitstamp generated $95 million in revenue over the 12 months ending April 30.
- Robinhood’s crypto revenue hit $252 million in Q1 2025, underscoring its growing digital asset footprint.
- Robinhood expects to incur around $65 million in Bitstamp-related integration costs through the rest of 2025.
Robinhood has already begun integrating Bitstamp’s trading infrastructure with Robinhood Legend and its Smart Exchange Routing system, aiming to enhance institutional trading capabilities.
Robinhood’s Global and Institutional Crypto Ambitions
With this acquisition, Robinhood significantly expands beyond the U.S. market, entering regulated jurisdictions across Europe and Asia. It also strengthens its positioning in the institutional crypto space, a segment Bitstamp has long dominated.
Robinhood Crypto General Manager Johann Kerbrat told CNBC that the company remains open to additional acquisitions, stating:
“If we can accelerate our roadmap by 18 months or two years, we’ll seriously consider it.”
This follows Robinhood’s $179 million acquisition of Canadian crypto platform WonderFi in May, signaling aggressive regional expansion across North America.
Tokenization: Robinhood’s Next Big Crypto Play
CEO Vladimir Tenev revealed that Robinhood is now eyeing tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) as the next phase of growth. In the company’s Q1 earnings call, Tenev emphasized the transformative potential of tokenizing private equities such as OpenAI and SpaceX, enabling fractional ownership and faster secondary market access.
“Tokenizing private equity is a huge unlock for both investors and companies,” said Tenev.
Stock Market Reaction
Robinhood shares (HOOD) rose 2.77% to $67.98 on June 2, with after-hours trading pushing gains to 0.44%, reflecting investor optimism over the deal.