Robinhood sets out to acquire Bitstamp

Robinhood Markets has announced the acquisition of Bitstamp, the leading UK-based regulated crypto exchange, for $200 million. The move is part of Robinhood’s strategy to expand its crypto services outside the US and become a full-fledged financial services provider, competing with giants like Coinbase and Binance. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025 and comes amid a period of rapid growth for Robinhood’s crypto division, despite regulatory challenges in the US.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin ticked higher despite global equity indices dropping after stronger-than-expected US employment data. The US Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate increased to 4.0% for the first time since January 2022, while non-farm payrolls increased by 272,000 jobs last month, surpassing economists’ forecasts. The strong labor market indicators suggest that inflationary pressures might persist, making the US Federal Reserve more cautious about ending its higher-for-longer interest rate policy.

Back to the wild side, the Solana-based meme coin GameStop (GME) skyrocketed 94% and became the largest gainer in the last 24 hours, fueled by the notification of a livestream scheduled by notorious retail trader RoaringKitty, set to happen tomorrow. The sharp rise in GME and related tokens like Roaring Kitty (KITTY) and Deep F*cking Value (DFV) has raised the total market cap of meme coins deployed on the Solana blockchain to nearly $10 billion, surpassing the investment portfolios of firms such as OKX Ventures and Sequoia Capital.

• Robinhood inks $200 million deal to acquire Bitstamp
• Bitcoin rebounds from drop with equity indices
• GME meme coin skyrockets 97% following Roaring Kitty livestream announcement

Data powered by CoinGecko.

Robinhood inks $200 million deal to acquire Bitstamp

With the Bitstamp acquisition, Robinhood aims to enhance its users’ trading experience while maintaining a commitment to…