Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:) mentioned Thursday it has agreed to amass cryptocurrency trade Bitstamp for about $200 million in money, marking the corporate's largest deal to this point.

HOOD shares rose 3% in pre-market buying and selling.

The transfer comes as Robinhood, an 11-year-old buying and selling app well-known amongst retail buyers, goals to develop right into a complete monetary companies supplier by increasing its product vary. The acquisition of Bitstamp, which was based in 2011 and holds 50 lively licenses and registrations worldwide, places Robinhood in direct competitors with trade giants resembling Binance and Coinbase (NASDAQ:).

Bitstamp will drive the growth of Robinhood Crypto and is predicted to be the corporate's first institutional enterprise. Bitstamp's core spot trade is especially standard in Europe and Asia, providing greater than 85 tradable belongings and likewise offering companies resembling staking and lending.

“The acquisition of Bitstamp marks a serious step in the direction of rising our cryptocurrency enterprise. Bitstamp's extremely trusted, long-standing world trade has confirmed resilient by market cycles,” mentioned Johan Kjellbladt, basic supervisor of Robinhood Crypto.

“This strategic mixture will allow us to broaden our attain outdoors the U.S. and higher place us to welcome institutional shoppers to Robinhood.”

The transaction is predicted to shut within the first half of 2025, following the speedy progress of Robinhood's cryptocurrency enterprise and regulatory challenges within the U.S. A Robinhood spokesperson burdened that the corporate continues to interact with regulators because it strikes ahead with the acquisition.