Bitstamp finally folds into Robinhood in $200M merger, unlocking global crypto passport
After a 12-month wait, the all-cash deal’s completion adds 50-plus licences, four million customers, and an institutional revenue line to Robinhood’s arsenal.
Robinhood has closed its year-long, $200 million takeover of Bitstamp, one of the world’s oldest crypto exchanges, catapulting the California fintech from a largely U.S. player into a regulator-blessed global heavyweight overnight.
“Bitstamp is now part of Robinhood, adding a globally-scaled crypto exchange and our first-ever institutional crypto business,” chief executive Vlad Tenev said as the deal was declared complete on Tuesday.
“Bitstamp team has established one of the strongest reputations across retail and institutional crypto investors. Through this strategic combination, we are better positioned to expand our footprint outside of the US and welcome institutional customers to Robinhood.”
— JB Graftieaux, Bitstamp CEO
- Instant passporting – The purchase drops more than 50 active licences across Europe, Asia, and the U.S. directly into Robinhood’s stack, approvals that would have taken years to win organically.
- Broader product menu – Robinhood can now offer 85+ listed coins, staking, and lending products, far beyond the 15 tokens available in its U.S. app.
- First institutional foothold – Bitstamp’s white-label custody and “Bitstamp-as-a-Service” desks open a higher-margin customer segment for Robinhood at a time when fee pressure on retail trading is intensifying.
- Regulatory clouds clear – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission closed a long-running probe into Robinhood Crypto in February, removing the final roadblock to the merger.
Announced on 6 June 2024, the transaction remained unchanged: $200 million in cash, no stock component, subject to customary closing adjustments. Robinhood tapped its balance-sheet war chest, bolstered by five consecutive profitable quarters, to pay out, signalling confidence in the crypto upswing and in its own cash-generation engine.
Date Milestone 6 Jun 2024 Robinhood announces intent to buy Bitstamp for $200M cash. 24 Feb 2025 SEC closes investigation into Robinhood Crypto with no enforcement action. 30 Apr 2025 Robinhood posts record Q1 crypto revenue of $146M (+16 % QoQ). 3 Jun 2025 Deal closes; Bitstamp becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary. Strategic calculus- Licence grab. Under Europe’s Markets-in-Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime, regional approvals can be “passported” across the bloc; buying Bitstamp shortcuts years of paperwork immediately unlocks 27 EU countries.
- Product expansion. Bitstamp lists 85+ assets and operates lending, staking, and white-label custody; Robinhood has hinted it will “selectively” port these into its U.S. app once regulatory clarity improves.
- Institutional revenues. Roughly a quarter of Bitstamp’s trading volumes come from high-frequency market-makers and family offices, a new, stickier revenue stream for Robinhood, which relies heavily on retail order-flow payments at home.
“This partnership brings a globally scaled crypto exchange to Robinhood with customers across the EU, UK, US and Asia.
Importantly, this acquisition introduces Robinhood’s first institutional crypto business.”
— Johann Kerbrat, GM Robinhood Crypto
Coinbase has held an Irish e-money licence since 2019 and designated Dublin as its MiCA hub in late 2023. It’s preparing a single CASP application, allowing it to provide passport services across the EU.
Kraken has opted for licences over acquisitions. In September 2023, it also secured an e-money licence in Ireland and a virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration in the Netherlands in early 2024, two of Europe’s most active crypto markets. These authorisations give Kraken compliant fiat rails without needing to buy infrastructure outright.
Binance remains on the defensive in Europe. Belgium’s FSMA banned its services in June 2023, citing a lack of authorised EU presence, and French prosecutors launched a formal probe into alleged money laundering and aggravated fraud in January 2025. The regulatory drag has left a vacuum that Robinhood, with Bitstamp’s 50-plus active registrations, is now poised to exploit.
Metric New figure Context Licences/registrations 50-plus Across the EU, UK, U.S., and Asia Tradable assets 85+ coins Up from 15 on Robinhood U.S. Bitstamp daily spot volume ≈ $230M CryptoCompare data Robinhood Q1 2025 crypto revenue $252M Up 100%By writing a $200 million cheque, Robinhood leapfrogs years of regulatory slog, plugging itself directly into Europe’s MiCA era and gaining a ready-made institutional business.
The race is to integrate smoothly and convince both Bitstamp die-hards and Robinhood loyalists that a trans-Atlantic, one-stop crypto shop can deliver on its promise.
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