Robinhood Markets Inc. is set to introduce cryptocurrency services in Singapore later this year through Bitstamp Ltd., the European digital-assets exchange it recently acquired.
The company plans to launch these services under the guidance of local regulators, although a specific date has not yet been confirmed, said Johann Kerbrat, vice-president and general manager of Robinhood Crypto, in an interview with Bloomberg News.
Singapore has positioned itself as a leading hub for digital assets in the Asia-Pacific region, competing with Hong Kong to attract global operators through dedicated regulatory frameworks and tokenization initiatives.
Robinhood’s acquisition of Bitstamp for US$200 million in June was partly aimed at facilitating its expansion into Singapore.
“Part of the reason why Bitstamp was attractive was because of their licences with Singapore, in addition to its institutional business,” Kerbrat stated.
Bitstamp announced last year that it had secured in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, a key regulatory milestone. Kerbrat noted that Robinhood’s crypto offerings in Singapore should be launched within a few months of the Bitstamp deal closing, which is expected in the first half of this year, pending regulatory clearance.
Global Expansion Strategy
Beyond Singapore, Bitstamp holds licenses and registrations in several European Union nations, including Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and France.
Robinhood also revealed plans in December to expand its broader trading business in Asia, selecting Singapore as its regional headquarters. The Menlo Park, California-based company’s move into Asia aligns with a broader trend, as competitors such as China’s Tiger Brokers and Futu Holdings Ltd. continue their own international expansions.
As part of its growth strategy, Robinhood aims to obtain brokerage licenses across the region. It launched cryptocurrency trading in Europe in late 2023 and introduced U.S. equity options trading for British customers in February.
Crypto Boom and Market Trends
Last year, Robinhood collaborated with crypto firms, including Kraken and Galaxy Digital, to launch a stablecoin called USDG, which will be issued by Paxos out of Singapore.
The crypto sector has been experiencing a surge, driven by a rally in digital assets and increased institutional investor interest, partly fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance. Robinhood has capitalized on this momentum, reporting revenue of over US$1 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, surpassing Wall Street’s projection of US$940.8 million.
Kerbrat acknowledged strong customer demand for memecoins, a speculative segment of the market that has gained attention following the launch of Trump’s self-branded cryptocurrency.
The volatility of such tokens—often skyrocketing in value before crashing—has attracted both excitement and scrutiny.
“We don’t want to make decisions for the customer, but if customers are asking for something and we feel like we have a way to offer it safely, we will do it,” Kerbrat said during an interview with Bloomberg News at the Consensus crypto conference in Hong Kong.
Robinhood’s expansion into Asia comes at a time when the global cryptocurrency market is reaching record highs, driven by increased adoption and a surge in institutional investment. Data from independent aggregator Coingecko showed the cryptocurrency market exceeded US$3.2 trillion by the end of last month.
