Crypto Trading App Robinhood Launching in UK Following FCA Approval

Published at: Aug. 8, 2019

A subsidiary of United States-based stock and crypto trading app Robinhood has been approved to operate as a broker in the United Kingdom.

Robinhood coming to the UK

Robinhood International, a Robinhood subsidiary, has received regulatory approval from major British regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), according to a blog post on Aug. 7.

The FCA approval will allow the firm to bring its investing platform to British customers, Robinhood said in the report, adding that the move would be a critical step on its path to democratizing finance for all. According to the post, the Robinhood team in London is already growing, and the company is hiring in fields of operations, compliance, user research and marketing.

Robinhood appoints former TransferWise exec as president 

Robinhood also appointed former head of treasury at money transfer service TransferWise Wander Rutgers as President of Robinhood International. Rutgers, who most recently served at personal savings assistant solutions provider Plum Fintech, will lead the U.K. business and oversee Robinhood’s new London office, the blog post notes.

Robinhood offers commission-free cryptocurrency trading. In February 2018, Robinhood mobile trading app launched zero-fee trading of Bitcoin and Ether for the first batch of users in the U.S. Earlier this year, Robinhood received a BitLicense to offer crypto-related services in New York from the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Robinhood Financial is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and also a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.

Last month, the FCA issued a policy statement on cryptocurrencies that said that the agency will not regulate Bitcoin as a part of its guidance on crypto assets.

Tags
United States
Bitcoin Regulation
Robinhood
United Kingdom
Related Posts
Crypto lending firm Celsius Network raises $400M
Cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network has raised $400 million in a new equity funding round amid United States regulators increasingly cracking down on crypto lending. Announcing the news on Tuesday, Celsius noted that the latest funding was led by Canada’s second-largest pension fund, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), and WestCap, an equity firm established by former Airbnb executive Laurence Tosi. Celsius Network raises $400m. @FT "The funding round was led by WestCap... and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)." More:https://t.co/L5wpMxCvcR — Celsius (@CelsiusNetwork) October 12, 2021 The firm intends to use the proceeds from this …
Adoption / Oct. 12, 2021
FINRA orders Robinhood to pay $70M due in part to 'significant harm' platform caused users
The U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is penalizing Robinhood to the tune of roughly $70 million based on the results of an investigation into the stock and cryptocurrency trading app. In a Wednesday announcement, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, said it had ordered Robinhood to pay $57 million in fines to the regulatory body as well as provide roughly $12.6 million in restitution to certain customers. FINRA alleged the trading platform caused “widespread and significant harm” to thousands of users and exhibited “systemic supervisory failures” starting as early as September 2016. “The fine imposed in this matter, the …
Regulation / June 30, 2021
SEC inquiry regarding Robinhood’s crypto business reportedly delays IPO
Major cryptocurrency and stock trading app Robinhood is reportedly struggling to move forward with its initial public offering due to an ongoing review from securities regulators. According to a Thursday report by Bloomberg, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has been questioning Robinhood about its cryptocurrency business, resulting in delays for the firm’s public offering plans. The company has been expanding its cryptocurrency offers since March, increasing its workforce and adding more crypto trading pairs. Citing anonymous people familiar with the matter, the report stated that Robinhood’s IPO plan could be delayed until autumn. As previously reported, Robinhood initially …
United States / June 25, 2021
Blockchain and the City: New York State as a “Tough” Model of Crypto Regulation
Recently the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) granted statewide virtual currency licenses to two applicants: stock trading service Robinhood and cryptocurrency ATM operator LibertyX. The state’s regulatory regime, commonly known as BitLicense, imposes a set of strict disclosure and consumer-protection requirements on any business that offers cryptocurrency-related services to New York residents. Since the framework was introduced in 2015, only a handful of companies had their applications approved by the NYDFS: The elite club of BitLicense holders now counts just 16 entities, the two newcomers included. The state has also demonstrated that it keeps close tabs on those …
United States / Feb. 21, 2019
Five Nations Launch Tax Enforcement Alliance to Tackle Crypto, Cybercrime 'Threat'
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched an international taskforce together with tax enforcement authorities from four other countries to take on cryptocurrency-enabled crimes, according to a press release published Monday, July 2. The new coalition, dubbed ‘The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement,’ or ‘J5,’ comprises tax enforcement agencies from five countries in total –– Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, alongside the U.S. As part of J5, the agencies will cooperate on intelligence and criminal investigations “to reduce the growing threat to tax administrations posed by cryptocurrencies and cybercrime,” as well as to target transnational …
United States / July 3, 2018