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Robinhood reportedly plans to service Singapore through Bitstamp, which it agreed to buy in 2024.
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Robinhood plans to launch cryptocurrency trading products in Singapore through its Bitstamp subsidiary, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 18.
The online brokerage has not yet set a launch date but aims to start rolling out services by late 2025, according to the report.
The report cited an interview with Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood Crypto’s vice president and general manager.
“Part of the reason why Bitstamp was attractive was because of their licenses with Singapore, in addition to its institutional business,” Kerbrat reportedly told Bloomberg.
Last June, Robinhood agreed to acquire the Bitstamp crypto exchange in a $200-million deal aimed at helping it serve institutional crypto investors in the US and beyond.
Bitstamp received an in-principal approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore last year, Bloomberg said. The acquisition is reportedly expected to close this year, pending regulatory approval.
Robinhood bought Bitstamp in 2024. Source: Bitstamp
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Memecoin mania
Robinhood also reported strong customer demand for memecoins, Bloomberg said.
This is despite ongoing fallout from “Libragate,” an insider-ridden memecoin launch that vaporized more than $4 billion in market capitalization on Feb. 14.
Retail interest in memecoins spiked after US President Donald Trump’s advisory team launched the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin on Jan. 18, ahead of Trump’s presidential inauguration on Jan. 20.
Meanwhile, crypto exchanges — including Binance.US and Coinbase — have been ramping up memecoin listings since Trump’s Nov. 5 election win.
“We don’t want to make decisions for the customer but if customers are asking for something and we feel like we have a way to offer it safely, we will do it,” Kerbrat reportedly said.
Robinhood’s change in trading volumes for equities, options contracts and crypto. Source: Robinhood
Burgeoning crypto business
In the fourth quarter of 2024, Robinhood’s crypto revenue reached $358 million, accounting for over half of Robinhood’s $672 million transaction-based revenues, the company said during its February earnings call.
Crypto trading volumes increased over 450% year-over-year to $71 billion.
Crypto assets under custody also increased 75% quarter-on-quarter to $35 million, while crypto trading volumes were up around fivefold compared to Q4 2023 and Q3 2024.
Trump’s election win and rising market prices fueled across-the-board increases in crypto trading.
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This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
