Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp is seeking to expand institutional businesses in Australia as it continues to grow its presence in the Asia Pacific region following Robinhood’s planned $200 million acquisition of the exchange.
In an interview with The Block in Singapore at the Token2049 conference, Bobby Zagotta, Bitstamp's global chief commercial officer, said the company sees potential in serving institutional clients in Asia.
“We see Asia as a great opportunity,” Zagotta said. “Hong Kong and Singapore [are] our primary markets… We also have a growing business in Australia. In 2024, we identified Australia as a particular geography we'd like to focus on.”
Zagotta added that local operators primarily service companies in Australia in the exchange space. “There are certain value propositions we can bring as a global exchange operator,” Zagotta said. “They don't have a lot of choices is my belief today. Binance is there. I believe Kraken is there but in limited ways.”
Zagotta, who also serves as CEO of Bitstamp US, explained that Asia currently accounts for 20% of its global business from a revenue standpoint, while Europe takes up about 65%.
Robinhood acquisition
Robinhood announced in June that it plans to acquire Bitstamp in a potential $200 million deal expected to close in the first half of 2025.
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Zagotta said that the exchange is getting approval from several regulators for the deal, “which is all in process and progressing well.”
“We're confident in that timeline,” Zagotta added. “As soon as [the regulatory approval] is completed, there'll be the change of control. So it's kind of business as usual until that.”
Robinhood could potentially bring significant retail client flows to Bitstamp after completing the deal. “What we're most excited about is that Robinhood has a very large retail crypto buying and selling base, and that flow is likely to come into our markets and make our markets very attractive.”
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