Unchained

Why Robinhood, a TradFi Hub, Is Growing Its Crypto Business Globally - Ep. 658

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Robinhood has been in the spotlight for its $200 million acquisition of European crypto exchange Bitstamp. The TradFi app’s venture into crypto is paying off: its recent earnings showed that revenue is growing substantially, and the Bitstamp acquisition is just one way the company will grow the pie.

Johann Kerbrat, general manager of Robinhood Crypto, came on the show to discuss the acquisition, Robinhood's plans for expanding its crypto business internationally and into the institutional market, the company's approach to listing crypto assets, how regulation has affected its business decisions, and its efforts to bridge traditional finance and decentralized finance.

Show highlights:
  • 02:14 How the acquisition of Bitstamp will reshape Robinhood
  • 08:51 Whether Robinhood could list more coins and whether it’s considering more acquisitions
  • 11:54 Whether the U.S.’s unclear crypto regulation influenced the decision to acquire Bitstamp and which other jurisdictions, besides the EU, Robinhood Crypto is eyeing
  • 17:46 Why Johann was disappointed by the Wells notice Robinhood received from the SEC
  • 20:47 Johann’s U.S. crypto regulation wish list and why Robinhood supports the FIT21 bill
  • 24:09 Why Robinhood delisted ADA, MATIC, and SOL, and the process for listing or delisting a coin on the platform
  • 29:49 Johann’s background in crypto and trajectory at Robinhood Crypto
  • 31:35 How Robinhood is uniquely poised to help bring real-world assets and securities on-chain, and how it will handle offerings for institutional investors
  • 37:48 The impact and importance of the introduction of spot bitcoin ETFs
  • 44:26 Why Robinhood decided to offer staking, but only for Solana, not Ethereum
  • 46:11 Whether there’s demand for crypto-native features in the Robinhood platform
  • 48:26 Robinhood’s collaboration with Arbitrum and whether the company might build their own Layer 2
  • 54:29 Johann’s take on the memecoin mania and whether Robinhood could list them
  • 59:26 What Johann thinks about the political fight around crypto in the U.S.


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    Guest:
    Johann Kerbrat, general manager of Robinhood CryptoLinks

    Acquisition of Bitstamp: 

    • Unchained: Q&A With Robinhood Crypto General Manager: Why the Crypto Giant Went to the EU
    • Fortune: Robinhood defies the SEC by forking over $200 million for a crypto exchange
    • DL News: Robinhood crypto head says Bitstamp will help lure wealthy investors

      • Robinhood’s crypto business:

      • Bloomberg: Robinhood (HOOD) Profit Beats Estimates as Crypto Revenue Surges
      • Robinhood Reports First Quarter 2024 Results

        • Regulatory actions:

        • Reuters: Robinhood Crypto gets Wells notice from US SEC 
        • Robinhood Crypto Launches Staking in Europe with Localized Apps to Follow

          • Memecoin mania

          • Unchained: 
          • Celebrity Tokens Continue to Bleed With Some Memecoin Traders Losing Six-Figures 
          • Why Memecoins Have Been 2024's Most Profitable Crypto Trade: Ansem and Kelxyz


            • Ether ETFs:

            • Unchained: 
            • Ethereum ETFs Likely Protect Ether From the SEC. But What About Staked ETH? 
            • Why the SEC May Not Be Done in Its Legal Battles Over Ethereum
            • Kerbrat’s statement on ETFs

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              UnchainedBy Laura Shin