https://ift.tt/bLkI6Qn Trading App Robinhood Acquired Ziglu, Aims to Expand Globally

On Tuesday, Robinhood announced its new acquisition Ziglu and it is subject to regulatory approvals and various other closing conditions. The company, however, didn’t disclose the terms of the acquisition. 

A spokesperson for Robinhood mentioned, “Even though we have acquired Ziglu, nothing will change for the Ziglu customers as per the rules and regulations mentioned on regulatory terms. Our vision is to fully integrate Ziglu into the Robinhood family and expand our company overseas. We aim to work beyond the United Kingdom markets.”

Robinhood Aims to Expand Globally with the New Deal

Robinhood aims to expand globally with this acquisition with Ziglu. 

In 2020, the firm planned to expand, but due COVID-19 pandemic and several restrictions, they couldn’t manage to acquire any company. But this new move is solely aimed at the company’s expansion.

Ziglu was founded by Mark Hipperson, an entrepreneur who assisted in establishing Starling bank in 2014. The company was valued at £85 million last November and raised £7 million further. Moreover, its customer base grew fourfold as the major tech companies’ demand for crypto investments increased. 

It is worth noting that Ziglu is the third crypto-based company approved by FCA to draw potential buyers’ interest. The “acquisition trend” of crypto-based currency seems to be increasing, and Bitpanda acquired Trustology earlier this year. Furthermore, Binance also teamed with Equinox. Binance owns an FCA-approved unit, which includes 1,500 banks and credit unions.

On the other hand, Robinhood is one of the leading online brokerage platforms in the United States, offering a commission-free trading platform for investors.

Moreover, Robinhood drew attention from the U.S. regulators last year due to its debatable trading policies and various other controversies. Despite that negative light being thrown, the firm emphasized its importance on development. 

The firm launched a new wallet feature and added nearly 2 million additional users in April 2022. Furthermore, it wishes to collaborate with Lightning Network as well.

The U.K. regulators have no authority to investigate the ownership of any registered crypto platforms before completing the deals. However, they can cancel or suspend the registration of crypto-based platforms if they are not satisfied or are meant solely for the owner’s benefit. 

Moreover, earlier this month, the U.K. government set out plans to become a “global hub” for crypto as competition between countries taking part in a rapidly growing but controversial crypto industry increases.

The state registry of the Financial Conduct Authority has provided a green light to just 33 of the more than 100 crypto companies that have applied for clearing their online platform registration criteria.