Robinhood's long-awaited international expansion is well underway. The consumer trading and investing app designed for younger generations will launch its cryptocurrency app to all eligible users in the European Union, the company announced Thursday.
This announcement follows the British invasion just a week ago. Although the company offers cryptocurrency trading to EU clients, its brokerage services are currently only available in the UK.
The European Union is at the forefront of developing rules to ensure the traceability of cryptocurrencies to combat money laundering and protect retail traders from market volatility. One of the most important frameworks is the Regulation of Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), which focuses on the regulation of stablecoins and is considered one of the most comprehensive regulations in the world for crypto-assets.
“The European Union has one of the most comprehensive crypto asset regulatory policies in the world, which is why we chose this region to anchor Robinhood Crypto’s international expansion plans,” said Johan Kerbrath, CEO of Robinhood Crypto.
In addition to low fees, Robinhood claims to be the only cryptocurrency custodian where customer funds are held on an exchange rather than in their wallets, and you will receive a percentage of trading volume paid in Bitcoin each month. . EU users can buy and sell around 25 cryptocurrencies, including major currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Robinhood is taking additional steps to ensure European users are getting value for their money, as their previous trading practices were less than ideal. The Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States slammed a stock trading app for misleading users about how it makes money and failing to deliver on its promise to deliver the best performance commercial. The company ultimately paid $65 million to settle the SEC charges.
In the EU cryptocurrency project, Robinhood promises transparency by displaying trading margins, which include the discounts it receives on sell orders and integrated trades.
It also guarantees that it will never mix customer coins with trading funds except for operational purposes such as paying network fees. After the fall of FTX, users are increasingly wary of centralized crypto platforms and are turning to decentralized alternatives.
Robinhood itself is cautious about cryptocurrency trading. In June, the company voluntarily decided to limit trading and reserve certain tokens for its US customers, while the government took a tougher stance on trading giants such as Binance and Coinbase.
The Robinhood Crypto app, available today on iOS and Android, is only accessible to European citizens over the age of 18. The platform plans to include more tokens and add new features such as cryptocurrency transfers, staking, and learning rewards in 2024.