Financial services company Robinhood Markets Inc. will buy crypto exchange BitStamp Ltd. for $200 million in cash, which is subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The acquisition, which was announced on June 6, 2024, is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
Barclays Capital Inc. and Galaxy Digital Partners LLC served as the exclusive financial advisors to Robinhood and BitStamp, respectively. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
BitStamp
Founded in 2011 in Slovenia, BitStamp has offices not only in Slovenia but also in Luxembourg, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. From November 2014 to February 2016, JB Graftieaux was the company’s chief compliance officer.
In May 2021, Graftieaux returned to BitStamp as its chief executive officer in Europe. In May 2022, he became the company’s global CEO.
Graftieaux describes BitStamp as the world’s longest running cryptocurrency exchange known as one of the most trusted and transparent crypto platforms worldwide. According to him, bringing its platform and expertise into Robinhood’s ecosystem will give users “an enhanced trading experience with a continuing commitment to compliance, security and customer-centricity”.
Robinhood
In 2013, Robinhood was founded by Varna, Bulgaria native Vladimir “Vlad” Tenev and Stanford University alum Baiju Bhatt, who served as the co-CEOs of the company. In November 2020, the former became the sole CEO.
In April 2021, Johann Kerbrat joined Robinhood as the head of engineering. He became the crypto chief technology officer in August 2021 and the crypto general manager in August 2022.
Kerbrat described the acquisition of BitStamp as a major step in growing Robinson’s crypto business. He stated, “Bitstamp’s highly trusted and long standing global exchange has shown resilience through market cycles.”
CONAN Daily 