Robinhood Begins European Expansion, Acquiring Regulated UK-Based Crypto Firm Ziglu

Nasdaq-listed trading platform Robinhood is acquiring Ziglu, a London-based electronic money institution and crypto asset firm. The acquisition is part of Robinhood’s international expansion plan. Robinhood “sees a big opportunity in serving customers across the globe.”

Robinhood Acquiring Regulated Crypto Firm Ziglu

Popular U.S.-based trading platform Robinhood announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to acquire a regulated cryptocurrency firm Ziglu.

Citing its mission to “democratize finance for all,” Robinhood emphasized, “That’s why earlier this year, we announced that we’ve set aggressive goals to start opening our crypto platform up to customers internationally.” The Nasdaq-listed trading platform added:

As we look to expand internationally, we’re excited to announce that we’ve signed a deal to acquire Ziglu Limited, a UK-based electronic money institution and cryptoasset firm.

The deal is “subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions,” Robinhood noted.

Founded in 2014, Ziglu allows U.K.-based retail investors to buy and sell 11 cryptocurrencies. Users can also earn yield via Ziglu’s “Boost” products, pay using a debit card, as well as transfer and spend money worldwide without fees, the announcement details. The U.K crypto firm is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The group was valued at £85 million last November when it raised £7 million.

Ziglu CEO Mark Hipperson stated that the two companies “share a common set of goals,” elaborating:

As part of Robinhood, we’ll supercharge Robinhood’s expansion across Europe and bring better access to crypto and its benefits to millions more customers.

The announcement adds that nothing will change in the near term for current Ziglu customers. However, in the longer term, Robinhood will fully integrate Ziglu in order to “bring the Robinhood brand overseas” as it works to “expand operations beyond the U.K. into Europe.”

Robinhood announced its plan to launch internationally in January, stating that it “believes in the immense potential of the crypto economy and sees a big opportunity in serving customers across the globe.”

Steve Quirk, Robinhood’s chief brokerage officer, explained in February that his company’s global expansion will be “crypto first.” He believes that from the regulatory standpoint, the path for Robinhood to “go global and have the most traction is probably through crypto, and then maybe follow with other components of the offering.”

Robinhood recently rolled out its cryptocurrency wallets to more than two million customers. The platform also added support for four additional cryptocurrencies this month, including meme crypto shiba inu. SHIB is now supported on the platform alongside bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin sv (BSV), dogecoin (DOGE), ethereum (ETH), ethereum classic (ETC), litecoin (LTC), compound (COMP), polygon (MATIC), and solana (SOL).