FTX Exchange Reportedly Acquiring Robinhood

FTX Exchange Reportedly Acquiring Robinhood

 

FTX, the Cryptocurrency Exchange firm founded by the billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, is reportedly looking to acquire Robinhood, according to a report by Bloomberg. Robinhood is a popular trading platform that exposed millions of traders around the globe to popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Dogecoin (DOGE).

 

As per Bloomberg, FTX is currently exploring the possibilities of a possible acquisition and conducting discussions internally about the same. Although no decision has been made to pursue a takeover or a merger, FTX has considered it a possibility. According to Bloomberg's source, FTX has yet to approach Robinhood with a buyout or merger proposal and may still decide against pursuing a purchase.

 

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FTX CEO, Bankman-Fried explained in a follow-up statement to Bloomberg that FTX is passionate about potentially partnering up with Robinhood, but there are still no active deliberations regarding the matter. "We are excited about Robinhood's business prospects and potential ways we could partner with them," Bankman-Fried told Bloomberg in an email, "That being said, there are no active M&A conversations with Robinhood."

 

Around 3 p.m. ET (12:30 a.m. IST), trading in Robinhood shares was halted temporarily after the news of FTX's plausible interest in taking over Robinhood. About 10 minutes later, trading resumed.

 

 

FTX or their CEO have been connected to Robinhood earlier, too. In May, an company filing revealed that Bankman-Fried had paid about $650 million for a 7.6% stake in Robinhood.

 

The deal was made under through another firm owned by Bankman-Fried, Emergent Fidelity Technologies. He stated that the purchase represented his conviction that Robinhood was an "attractive investment" and that he had no aim of changing or influencing the firm's control.

 

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Robinhood has been stressed since January, with its shares down by almost 50% as the trading platform due to the market collapse that has crushed large and small investors, including the retail "meme stock" traders that made Robinhood a popular trading platform during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

 

Robinhood has lost three-fourths of its value since it got listed on Nasdaq in July 2021. Though its share value witnessed a jump of 14 percent, it’s still down by 75 percent from its Initial public offering (IPO) listing price. It announced a $392 million loss for in the first quarter in April, with quarterly revenue falling by 43% to $299 million. The company also reported a decrease in Monthly Active Users (MAU) and has laid off 9% of its staff, citing rapid personnel expansion that caused overlap in several areas.

 

As for FTX, there have been no indications of faltering its growth even through the current bear market. The exchange recently gave a $250 million bailout offer to Bitcoin lender BlockFi and earlier this month, FTX agreed to buy Canadian Cryptocurrency network Bitvo for an undisclosed amount.