Robinhood (HOOD) Plans to Offer Cryptocurrency Futures in Europe and the United States

Robinhood Markets, Inc. HOOD plans to offer cryptocurrency futures in the U.S. and Europe soon, Bloomberg first reported, citing people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the plans are not yet public.

Once HOOD completes its previously announced $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp Ltd. next year, the people said, the trading platform will likely use the crypto exchange’s licenses to offer perpetual futures contracts for Bitcoin and other tokens in Europe.

HOOD also plans to launch CME-based futures contracts in the United States for Bitcoin and Ether.

Plans are subject to change as discussions are still ongoing. A Robinhood spokesperson said, “We have no imminent plans to launch these offerings.”

Robinhood has made several efforts to expand its exposure to cryptocurrencies. In November 2023, the trading platform announced that it would launch cryptocurrency trading in the European Union and brokerage operations in the United Kingdom.

Currently, HOOD has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Notably, since the approval of U.S. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) in early 2024, demand for futures contracts has increased.

On January 10, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved rule changes to allow the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States. This is a turning point for cryptocurrency markets, which have been under regulatory scrutiny for some time.

For years, the SEC has warned of the risks associated with the largely unregulated cryptocurrency markets, denying various cryptocurrency-based investment apps and imposing fines on suspected cryptocurrency-related scams.

However, the SEC’s decision to allow Bitcoin ETFs to be traded on spot marked a shift in how cryptocurrencies were viewed and traded by investors.

This month of February, Franklin Resources, Inc. BEN has become the eighth company in the cryptocurrency sector to file for an Ethereum spot ETF.

In November 2023, Black rock BLK filed an application for a spot Ethereum ETF, called the iShares Ethereum Trust, with the SEC, which caused the price of Ethereum to hit its highest level of the year before subsequently pulling back.

In June 2023, BLK became the first asset manager to file for a spot Bitcoin ETF, paving the way for a wave of filings by other asset managers.

Notably, including BEN, all of the companies that were competing to introduce spot Ethereum ETFs launched spot Bitcoin products in January.

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