robinhood

Robinhood launches crypto trading services in Europe

All eligible customers in the EU region can access Robinhood for crypto trading services, with over 25 cryptocurrencies available for trade.

Trading and brokerage firm Robinhood announced the launch of its crypto services for all eligible European Union customers on Dec. 7. The platform will allow traders to buy and sell over 25 cryptocurrencies.

Robinhood’s entry into the European crypto market comes just a week after the firm launched its stock trading application in the United Kingdom.

Cointelegraph contacted Oliver McIntosh, senior product communications manager at Robinhood, to understand the firm’s crypto focus and expansion plans in Europe. Mcintosh said that the EU is the right market to anchor our international expansion plans, and Robinhood “welcomes the approach that the EU has taken in creating the world’s first comprehensive regime for crypto assets via the Market in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).”

Robinhood crypto trading rises 75% in Nov, CEO tips ‘9 figures' in revenue

The trading platform posted a sharp rise in monthly crypto trading volumes in November, while CEO Vlad Tenev said he hopes to eventually reel in “nine figures” in annual revenue.

Crypto-friendly trading platform Robinhood has reported a 75% month-on-month increase in digital asset trading volume in November.

In an 8-K filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Dec.

The activity however equity trading volumes and options contracts traded were roughly flat in the same month compared to October.

The bumper month marks a reversal for Robinhood, which revealed a 55% decrease in cryptocurrency notional volumes over the year in its Q3 results filing.

As a result, its Q3 revenue came in below analyst estimates for the quarter at $467 million.

*Robinhood’s 8-K report showing preliminary operating data for November 2023. Source: SEC*

Robinhood could be eyeing a more profitable fourth quarter in light of the recent crypto market rally, which has seen total capitalization surge 40% to $1.6 trillion over the past two months.

Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev told investors in a November earnings call that the platform could eventually reel “nine figures” in annual revenue.

Robinhood crypto trading rises 75% in Nov, CEO tips ‘9 figures’ in revenue

The trading platform posted a sharp rise in monthly crypto trading volumes in November, while CEO Vlad Tenev said he hopes to eventually reel in “nine figures” in annual revenue.

Crypto-friendly trading platform Robinhood has reported a 75% month-on-month increase in digital asset trading volume in November.

In a Form 8-K filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Dec.

The activity, however, didn’t translate to equity and options contract trading volumes, which were mostly flat compared to October.

The bumper month marks a reversal for Robinhood, which revealed a 55% decrease in cryptocurrency notional volumes over the year in its Q3 results filing.

As a result, its Q3 revenue came in below analyst estimates for the quarter at $467 million.

Robinhood could be eyeing a more profitable fourth quarter in light of the recent crypto market rally, which has seen total capitalization surge 40% to $1.6 trillion over the past two months.

Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev told investors in a November earnings call that the platform could eventually reel “nine figures” in annual revenue.

Robinhood to roll out US stock trading in British market

Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev said in an interview with Bloomberg that the company is still focused on its global aspirations, and its U.K. expansion is one step toward that.

In another attempt to expand its business internationally, online trading platform Robinhood has announced plans to launch its stock exchange application in the United Kingdom.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vladimir Tenev said that the app has already opened a waitlist for those who want to get early access.

“The intention is, for the U.K. dollars, and we believe we can fill that need better than anyone else.”

The launch will allow users in the U.K.

The move restarts Robinhood’s attempt to reach a more global market.

“Baiju and I started this company as immigrants and children of immigrants, and so, the idea of making our services […] available to anyone in the world is just the vision that I had in mind from the very beginning,” Tenev explained in the interview.

This is not the first time that Robinhood has attempted to penetrate the U.K. In 2019, the company tried to launch its trading app in the U.K. after receiving approval from the Financial Conduct Authority, a major U.K. However, in 2020, the company announced that it was postponing its U.K. launch and freezing its global expansion plans indefinitely.

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US state regulators announce $10M settlement with Robinhood ‘for failing investors’

The investigation looked into complaints of Robinhood’s system outages that caused users to miss out on trades while many of its services were unavailable.

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said that the company behind cryptocurrency and stock trading platform Robinhood will likely pay more than $10 million in penalties “for operational and technical failures that harmed main street investors.”

In an April 6 announcement, the DFPI said the settlement — up to $10.2 million — was the result of an investigation by the North American Securities Administrators Association in conjunction with securities regulators from Alabama, Colorado, California, Delaware, New Jersey, South Dakota and Texas. The platform suffered a series of system outages in March 2020 causing users to miss out on trades while many of its services were unavailable.

“Robinhood repeatedly failed to serve its clients, but this settlement makes clear that Robinhood must take its customer care obligations seriously and correct these deficiencies,” said NASAA president Andrew Hartnett.

.@RobinhoodApp faces multi-state settlement for operational & technical failures impacting investors, following a @NASAA investigation by 7 states. Robinhood has implemented recommendations from an independent consultant. More info: https://t.co/atk86Z0Xmk #Investing #Cryptonews pic.twitter.com/B5QWU0m3yq

— CA Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (@CaliforniaDFPI) April 6, 2023

Robinhood experienced significant growth at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when many people shifted to working from home and conducting online trades through the app. However, the platform’s outages caused some affected users to file a class-action lawsuit against Robinhood. The U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, also penalized the firm for roughly $70 million for causing “widespread and significant harm” to thousands of users.

“There were deficiencies at Robinhood in its review and approval process for options and margin accounts, weaknesses in the firm’s monitoring and reporting tools, and insufficient customer service and escalation protocols that in some cases left Robinhood users unable to process trades even as the value of certain stocks was dropping.”

The DFPI order accuses Robinhood of “negligent dissemination of inaccurate information to customers” in regard to margin trading and risks with multi-leg option spreads, as well as failures related to services available to customers and transparency with FINRA and state regulators. As part of the settlement, Robinhood “neither admits nor denies” the regulators’ findings, which did not include evidence of “willful or fraudulent conduct.”

The New York Department of Financial Services — which was not a part of the NASAA investigation — announced a $30 million penalty on Robinhood’s crypto business arm in August 2022 for alleged violations related to Anti-Money Laundering, cybersecurity and consumer protection laws between January and September 2019. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also issued an investigative subpoena against the firm in December 2022 for its crypto listings and custody services.

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Hackers take over Robinhood’s Twitter account to promote scam token

A since-removed tweet called on Robinhood’s 1.1 million Twitter followers to each pay $0.0005 for a token called ‘RBH’ on the Binance Smart Chain.

An unknown group or individual has hacked the Twitter account behind crypto and stock trading platform Robinhood to push users to buy a ‘new’ token.

Many Crypto Twitter users reported on Jan. 25 that Robinhood had posted a tweet calling on its 1.1 million followers to each pay $0.0005 for a token called ‘RBH’ on the Binance Smart Chain. Conor Grogan, the head of product business operations at Coinbase, reported at least 10 people had purchased roughly $1,000 worth of the scam token before the tweet was removed.

Likely due to the invocation of Binance, CEO Changpeng Zhao reported the company’s security team had locked the account linked in the tweet “pending further investigations”. At the time of publication, the tweet was no longer visible on Robinhood’s account. A Robinhood spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the hacker — believed to be a “third party vendor” — had made posts on the platform’s Instagram and Facebook profiles as well.

“Always have critical thinking even [if] the account looks or is real,” said CZ.

Robinhood presumably hacked pic.twitter.com/UgRD3UCbo9

— db (@tier10k) January 25, 2023

Though the app facilitates the sale of many cryptocurrencies, Robinhood does not have a token directly tied to the platform as RBH falsely claimed. Investors can purchase exposure to the company through shares of HOOD listed on Nasdaq at roughly $9.71 at the time of publication.

A major hack of many high profile Twitter accounts in July 2020 was used to scam users out of Bitcoin (BTC) by promising to send back double any crypto received. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has since purchased the social media platform and enacted many policies criticized by users, industry leaders, and lawmakers.

This article was updated on Jan. 25 to include a statement from Robinhood.

US DOJ announces seizure of 55M Robinhood shares

The Justice Department said it had seized 55,273,469 shares of Robinhood and more than $20 million in U.S. currency as part of the criminal case against Sam Bankman-Fried.

The United States Department of Justice has officially notified the court handling the bankruptcy of BlockFi that it has seized assets as part of the criminal cases against crypto exchange FTX and its executives.

In a Jan. 6 court filing, the Justice Department said it had seized 55,273,469 shares of Robinhood — worth more than $450 million at the time of publication — to which former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, BlockFi and FTX creditor Yonathan Ben Shimon had previously made claims. The DOJ noted it had also taken control of more than $20 million in U.S. currency from the brokerage firm ED&F Man Capital Markets.

“The charges in the Indictment arise from an alleged wide-ranging scheme by the defendant to misappropriate billions of dollars of customer funds deposited onto FTX, the international cryptocurrency exchange founded by Bankman-Fried,” said the court filing. “The Indictment includes forfeiture allegations, seeking to forfeit property that constitutes or was derived from proceeds traceable to the conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and property involved in the conspiracy to commit money laundering.”

Reports from Jan. 4 had suggested the Justice Department was in the process of seizing the Robinhood shares as part of the case against FTX. Bankman-Fried’s legal team confirmed on Jan. 5 that the DOJ had moved forward with seizing the shares, but still argued the former FTX CEO had a claim to the assets “to pay for his criminal defense”.

Following his arrest in the Bahamas and extradition to the United States in December, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges including wire fraud and violations of campaign finance laws. Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang have already pleaded guilty to related charges. SBF’s criminal trial is scheduled to begin in October.

Bankruptcy proceedings for FTX separate from the criminal cases are also ongoing, with the next public hearing scheduled for Jan. 11. Parties representing FTX debtors have also pointed to assets connected to the crypto exchange and its former executives as many customers look to recover lost and missing funds.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers claim he needs Robinhood shares ‘to pay for his criminal defense’

The legal team confirmed the U.S. Departure of Justice was in the process of seizing the Robinhood shares but said SBF was “compelled to reply” given other claims.

The legal team for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has filed a motion in an effort to stop the exchange’s debtors from controlling more than $450 million worth of shares of Robinhood.

In a Jan. 5 court filing regarding FTX’s bankruptcy case, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said FTX debtors had “failed to carry their heavy burden” establishing that they had a legal claim to more than 56 million Robinhood shares. The legal team confirmed reports that the United States Departure of Justice was in the process of seizing the shares, but said SBF was “compelled to reply” given the stakes surrounding the assets.

“Mr. Bankman-Fried has not been found criminally or civilly liable for fraud, and it is improper for the FTX Debtors to ask the Court to simply assume that everything Mr. Bankman-Fried ever touched is presumptively fraudulent,” said the filing, referring to the Robinhood shares. “The FTX Debtors have not shown that they have a reasonable likelihood of succeeding on the merits of a fraudulent transfer claim.”

The court filing cited U.S. authorities’ criminal case against Bankman-Fried, in which he faces eight criminal counts, including wire fraud and violations of campaign finance laws. According to his lawyers, SBF “requires some of these funds to pay for his criminal defense.” They cited case law in which withholding funds could “constitute irreparable harm” to one’s defense.

Bankman-Fried claimed in December — prior to his arrest in the Bahamas and extradition to the U.S. — that he had only had $100,000 left in his bank account. However, two individuals whose personal information has been redacted from public documents have also signed on to be sureties for his $250-million bond, along with his parents.

The former FTX CEO has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his trial is expected to begin in October. As a condition of his bail, a federal judge ordered Bankman-Fried not to access or transfer any cryptocurrency or assets from FTX or Alameda. On-chain data had suggested funds from Alameda wallets were being moved amid the court cases.

Though the U.S. Justice Departure may soon have control of all of the Robinhood shares, FTX, BlockFi and Bankman-Fried have separately previously staked claims for different reasons. BlockFi filed a suit in November claiming the stocks were put up as collateral for the firm’s loans to Alameda Research, while FTX has argued the shares should be controlled by the firm while the bankruptcy case proceeds.

US authorities are seizing $460M in Robinhood shares tied to FTX: Report

Officials reportedly told a bankruptcy judge they were in the process of seizing 56 million shares of Robinhood tied to FTX and its former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried.

The United States Departure of Justice has reportedly seized or was in the process of seizing more than $400 million worth of Robinhood shares linked to FTX as part of the case against the crypto exchange.

According to a Jan. 4 report from Reuters, U.S. officials told a judge they were in the process of seizing assets tied to FTX and its former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, which included 56 million shares of Robinhood — worth roughly $468 million at the time of publication. The report comes a day after a judge in the criminal case against SBF ordered him not to access or transfer any cryptocurrency or assets from FTX or Alameda.

Amid FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, control of the Robinhood shares has been under contention as many investors and creditors look to be made whole. BlockFi, Bankman-Fried and FTX creditor Yonathan Ben Shimon have all staked claims to the assets.

In federal court on Jan. 3, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to eight criminal counts, including wire fraud, securities fraud and violations of campaign finance laws. He also previously denied moving funds from Alameda, saying he no longer had access to the wallets since stepping down as CEO in November.

The former FTX CEO has been under house arrest at his parent’s home in California since December but has been allowed to travel for approved reasons, including showing up for court in New York. His trial date has been set for Oct. 2.

SBF borrowed $546M from Alameda to fund Robinhood share purchase

An affidavit by the FTX founder revealed that Alameda funded the purchase of Robinhood shares, which were later used as collateral for Alameda to secure a loan from BlockFi.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, borrowed over $546 million from the exchange’s sister firm Alameda Research to fund his purchase of Robinhood shares.

Those same shares were later used by Bankman-Fried as collateral for a loan taken by Alameda from BlockFi, one of the entities that are laying claim to the shares.

An affidavit by Bankman-Fried filed in the Antigua and Barbuda High Court on Dec. 12 — the day of his arrest — and made public on Dec. 27, revealed that he and FTX co-founder Zixiao “Gary” Wang took out the loans from Alameda through four promissory notes between April and May.

On April 30, loans of around $316.6 million and $35.1 million were given to Bankman-Fried and Wang, respectively. On May 15, two loans of around $175 million and $19.4 million were given to Bankman-Fried.

The loans were used to fund Bankman-Fried’s Antiguan-based shell company, Emergent Fidelity Technologies Ltd., which acquired a 7.6% stake in brokerage firm Robinhood in May at a price of $648 million at the time.

He added that if the sum paid by Emergent for the shares was more than the stated $546 million he has “not [sic] doubt that such additional sum was borrowed by Gary and I” to fund the acquisition of the Robinhood shares.

The revelation of the loans could complicate the ongoing legal tug of war for the over 56 million Robinhood shares, which are now worth around $430 million.

Embattled crypto lender BlockFi is suing Bankman-Fried’s Emergent for the Robinhood shares, which were allegedly pledged as collateral for BlockFi’s loans to Alameda on Nov. 9.

FTX stepped in on Dec. 23, asking for assistance from a U.S. bankruptcy judge to prevent BlockFi from claiming the shares. It said the shares are owned by Alameda and insisted FTX companies should keep the Robinhood stake while investigations continue into other claims of their ownership.

Additionally, Bankman-Fried and FTX creditor Yonathan Ben Shimon are laying claim to the shares.

Previously, FTX’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings in the United States revealed Bankman-Fried was on the receiving end of a $1 billion personal loan from Alameda.

Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison said on Dec. 23 as part of her plea deal that “Alameda was borrowing funds that FTX’s customers had deposited onto the exchange.”