Online stockbroker and trading Robinhood Markets Inc. said today that it has agreed to acquire Bitstamp Ltd., a cryptocurrency exchange with global reach, in an effort to deepen the company’s crypto offerings and expand its customer base outside the United States.

According to the agreement, Bitstamp will be sold to Robinhood in a $200 million cash deal, subject to the customary closing conditions and regulatory scrutiny approvals, and is expected to close during the first half of 2025. Galaxy Digital Inc. and Barclays Capital Partners served as advisors for the deal.

Bitstamp was founded in 2011 and operates a global cryptocurrency exchange with offices in the U.S., the U.K., Luxemborg, Slovenia and Singapore. The company holds more than 50 active licenses across the world and would expand Robinhood’s existing crypto trading capabilities.

Robinhood added crypto trading in the U.S. to its platform during a slow rollout during 2018, beginning with a small number of cryptocurrencies and has expanded to more than 30 crypto assets, including bitcoin and Ethereum. Bitstamp’s retail and institutional trading platform includes more than 85 crypto assets, and offers products such as staking and lending.

“Bitstamp’s highly trusted and longstanding global exchange has shown resilience through market cycles,” said Johann Kerbrat, general manager of Robinhood Crypto. “Through this strategic combination, we are better positioned to expand our footprint outside of the U.S. and welcome institutional customers to Robinhood.”

This news comes a month after Robinhood received a “Well’s notice” of enforcement action from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the crypto tokens traded on its platform. The notice itself is not an action in of itself, nor does it mean the company is engaged in any wrongdoing, but the notice informs a company that the SEC is planning to bring enforcement action.

“We firmly believe that the assets listed on our platform are not securities and we look forward to engaging with the SEC to make clear just how weak any case against Robinhood Crypto would be,” Dan Gallagher, chief legal, compliance and corporate affairs officer at Robinhood, said at the time.

The SEC has intensified efforts against the crypto industry, issuing statements that companies that deal with cryptocurrencies must comply with securities laws in order to protect investors in burgeoning crypto markets the same as in mature stock markets. That has led the SEC to bring charges against numerous major crypto firms, including Coinbase Inc., the largest domestic crypto exchange, as well as Bittrex Inc., Genesis Global Capital LLC, Gemini Trust Co. LLC, and Nexo Inc. to name a few.

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