Robinhood to start crypto futures trading in U.S. and Europe

Financial giant Robinhood is planning to offer cryptocurrency futures in the U.S. and Europe soon. The company aims to make these services available after completing its $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp next year.

Bitstamp holds licenses that Robinhood wants to use to offer perpetual futures for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Europe. In the U.S., it wants to introduce CME-based futures for Bitcoin and Ether.

Source: X.com

This expansion strategy comes despite no immediate plans to launch these offerings, as stated by a Robinhood spokesperson. Talks are ongoing, and final plans may still change.

Market dynamics amid Robinhood’s expansion

The crypto derivatives market is larger than the spot market worldwide. In May, centralized exchanges recorded $1.57 trillion in spot trading volumes, while derivatives volumes reached $3.69 trillion.

Robinhood has been expanding its crypto offerings, even as it deals with regulatory scrutiny. The company received a Wells notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warning of potential enforcement action.

Despite this, Robinhood moved forward with its acquisition plans. In June, it agreed to acquire Bitstamp, with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2025.

Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev. Credits: Bloomberg

Additionally, in March, the company bought Marex FCM, which has the license to offer futures in the U.S. Coinbase already offers derivatives, making the competition stiff for Robinhood in this space.

Earlier today, the financial giant also announced the acquisition of Pluto Capital, an AI-powered investment research platform.

This acquisition reportedly aims to enhance the user experience by providing sophisticated financial planning tools to a broader audience.

Pluto Capital is known for its strong AI algorithms, which offer detailed insights into market trends and personalized investment strategies. Mayank Agarwal, VP of Engineering at Robinhood, expressed excitement about the acquisition. He stated:

“We are thrilled to welcome Pluto and Jacob Sansbury to Robinhood. They have built an impressive platform that is highly regarded in the financial services industry. Importantly, their expertise in artificial intelligence coupled with a mission-aligned passion to democratize finance will complement our team’s effort to bring AI-powered tools to our customers.”

Jacob Sansbury, CEO of Pluto, stated that Robinhood is the ideal destination to build products that democratize access to financial services like wealth management and financial planning through state-of-the-art AI.