Trading platform Robinhood (HOOD) plans to introduce crypto products in Singapore this year pending the completion of its purchase of crypto exchange Bitstamp, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Robinhood agreed to buy Bitstamp in June and the $200 million acquisition is expected to close in the first half of the year. The launch of Robinhood’s crypto products in the region should follow shortly after the deal closes, Johann Kerbrat, vice president and general manager of Robinhood Crypto, told Bloomberg in an interview.
“Part of the reason why Bitstamp was attractive was because of their licenses with Singapore, in addition to its institutional business,” Kerbrat said.
Bitstamp secured an in-principle license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore last year. The license paves the way for the company to obtain a Major Payment Institution license and provide digital token services in the country, Bitstamp said at the time in a statement.
At a meeting in 2024, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said the company would expand into Asia this year and Singapore would be its base in the region.
Neither Robinhood nor Bitstamp responded to a request for comment before publication.