Amid falling revenues, Robinhood has set its sights on international growth, launching a U.K. brokerage business and plans for EU cryptocurrency trading.

On November 30, Robinhood’s previously announced brokerage service launched in the United Kingdom, with the launch marking Robinhood’s first expansion outside of the United States.

The company said in an announcement that UK customers will be able to buy more than 6,000 US-listed stocks and American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) at launch. Features include commission-free trading, high-yield interest on uninvested cash, extended market trading hours and free currency conversion between pounds and dollars.

Robinhood pioneered the zero-commission, no-minimum-balance brokerage model in 2013 in an effort to inspire higher retail investing internationally as it had in the U.S. The company claims the innovation has saved users billions of dollars in fees to date and helped drive growth in U.S. household equity by 27% between 2013 and 2022.

The international push continues despite a recent drop in Robinhood revenues. Trading-based revenues fell 55% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2023, likely in part due to bear market conditions in cryptocurrencies.

Robinhood Locations

In addition to the UK brokerage, Robinhood has also revealed its ambition to offer cryptocurrency trading in the European Union, pending regulatory approval. The company currently holds more than $3 billion worth of Bitcoin in cold storage to hold user cryptocurrency balances. Research shows that Robinhood also has the fifth largest Ethereum wallet, holding more than $2.5 billion.

Cryptocurrencies accounted for 12% of Robinhood's trading revenue in the third quarter of 2023, down from 24% in the third quarter of 2022. However, cryptocurrency exchange expansion remains a key component of management's growth forecasts as customer balances continue to grow despite market volatility.

Robinhood also faces macroeconomic challenges that could impact its global ambitions, including high inflation, rising interest rates and tightening disposable income.

Meanwhile, early Robinhood investor Alphabet Inc. liquidated the last of its 612,214 Robinhood shares held until August as the tech giant began to wind down its stake amid headwinds from declining Robinhood trading volumes.

Against this economic backdrop, Robinhood’s first expansion into the UK and other target markets remains a complex path forward. #Robinhood  #国际扩张