On Thursday, Robinhood, the stock trading app known for its crypto trading feature, officially launched cryptocurrency trading services in the European Union. This move comes a month after the company had indicated its intentions in a quarterly earnings report.
As part of its expansion into the EU market, Robinhood will offer 26 cryptocurrencies, including 11 not accessible to its U.S. users. Notably, the EU platform will include tokens such as SOL (Solana), MATIC (Polygon), and ADA (Cardano), which were delisted from Robinhood’s U.S. platform in June due to regulatory pressures.
Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s head of crypto, stated, “The EU has developed one of the world’s most comprehensive policies for crypto asset regulation, which is why we chose the region to anchor Robinhood Crypto’s international expansion plans.”
This European expansion marks one of Robinhood’s significant crypto developments since the introduction of its Web3 wallet in January. Despite a decline in crypto revenues since mid-2021, the online brokerage remains committed to the crypto industry. In November, Robinhood reported a 75% increase in crypto trading volumes compared to the previous month.
Robinhood, notable for its involvement in the meme-stock trading frenzy in early 2021, initially launched its crypto trading platform in 2018 with Bitcoin and Ethereum. Over time, it has expanded its offerings to make crypto a core aspect of its business model.
In the second quarter of 2021, crypto transactions contributed around 41% of Robinhood’s total revenue, driven by the surge in Dogecoin prices. However, the company’s crypto business has faced regulatory challenges, with a $30 million fine from New York’s top financial regulator in August 2022 and an investigatory subpoena from the SEC in December 2022. In response to regulatory pressures, Robinhood delisted certain cryptocurrencies, including SOL, MATIC, and ADA, in June.
The decision to relist these tokens in the EU, along with others named as unregistered securities by the SEC, indicates Robinhood’s confidence in the European regulatory framework, which implemented comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation in April.
