On Tuesday, Robinhood, a major US commission-free stock trading and investing app, announced that it reached an agreement to acquire the London-based fintech app, Ziglu. According to CNBC, the app allows users to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies.
“Ziglu and Robinhood share a common set of goals, working to reduce the barriers to entry for a new generation of investors, and we’re excited to pursue that mission together. As part of Robinhood, we’ll supercharge Robinhood’s expansion across Europe and bring better access to crypto and its benefits to millions more customers,” Mark Hipperson, the Founder and CEO of Ziglu, commented in a blog post published in Robinhood.
The acquisition comes in the midst of the platform’s expansion into the UK and Europe, as the plans were halted two years ago. “Like Robinhood, Ziglu believes that the new era of digital money brings a multitude of opportunities, and Ziglu exists to make those opportunities accessible to everyone. Their talented team and technology will help us accelerate our international expansion, both in the UK and across Europe,” the stock trading and investing app pointed out in the blog post.
As of press time, the terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed, and the deal is pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. In total, the company has raised GBP 17.5 million ($22.8 million) to date, including GBP 13.4 million from retail investors through equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs. At its last valuation, the company stood at GBP 85 million. CNBC said that it is one of the few crypto firms to have been registered with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Robinhood Crypto Wallet
Early this month, Aparna Chennapragada, the Chief Product Officer at Robinhood, announced that eligible users on the waitlist would have the company’s long-awaited crypto wallet. The announcement was made at the Bitcoin Conference 2022 in Miami, Florida where Robinhood pointed out that the waitlist accounted for over two million people.
