Robinhood to launch in Britain with deal to buy crypto app Ziglu

Robinhood explained Tuesday it has agreed to buy Ziglu, a London-based fintech app that permits customers to trade bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies. The acquisition will help in its enlargement plans in the U.K. and Europe, the corporation reported.

The announcement comes practically two decades soon after Robinhood halted designs to start in the U.K. At the time, the organization reported it was prioritizing its organization at residence around global growth.

Shares of Robinhood climbed far more than 5% Tuesday.

The offer could give a crucial boost to progress prospective buyers for Robinhood, whose general performance has weakened due to the fact the GameStop investing frenzy past year.

Robinhood noted a fall in regular energetic end users in the fourth quarter of 2021 — to 17.3 million from 18.9 million in the previous quarter — and reported it expects very first-quarter 2022 income of less than $340 million, down 35% from the yr-earlier period of time. The corporation has misplaced approximately two-thirds of its current market benefit considering that debuting on the Nasdaq previous summer time.

Vlad Tenev, Robinhood’s CEO and co-founder, reported the acquire of Ziglu “will assistance us speed up our world growth initiatives.”

“Collectively with the Ziglu workforce, we’ll do the job to leverage the finest of both equally corporations, checking out new ways to innovate and break down barriers for consumers throughout the British isles and Europe,” Tenev explained in a web site article.

Terms of the acquisition had been not disclosed. The deal is topic to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, Robinhood said.

Started in 2018, Ziglu allows consumers to make payments, make investments in a assortment of cryptocurrencies and make desire on holdings of bitcoin and British lbs . sterling.

The corporation has elevated a complete of £17.5 million ($22.8 million) to date, which includes £13.4 million from retail buyers via the equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs. It was final valued at £85 million.

It is a person of the couple crypto issues that has managed to sign up with the U.K.’s Financial Perform Authority. Registration is a key requirement for electronic asset corporations on the lookout to function in the place.

The regulator a short while ago prolonged a deadline for firms to make the reduce following numerous providers withdrew their applications.

Mark Hipperson, Ziglu’s CEO, was previously a co-founder of British electronic financial institution Starling. Ziglu and Robinhood “share a common set of goals,” he stated.

“As part of Robinhood, we are going to supercharge Robinhood’s expansion throughout Europe and carry far better access to crypto and its benefits to tens of millions far more consumers,” Hipperson stated.