A subsidiary of United States-based stock and crypto trading app Robinhood has been approved to operate as a broker in the United Kingdom.
Robinhood coming to the UK
Robinhood International, a Robinhood subsidiary, has received regulatory approval from major British regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), according to a blog post on Aug. 7.
The FCA approval will allow the firm to bring its investing platform to British customers, Robinhood said in the report, adding that the move would be a critical step on its path to democratizing finance for all. According to the post, the Robinhood team in London is already growing, and the company is hiring in fields of operations, compliance, user research and marketing.
Robinhood appoints former TransferWise exec as president
Robinhood also appointed former head of treasury at money transfer service TransferWise Wander Rutgers as President of Robinhood International. Rutgers, who most recently served at personal savings assistant solutions provider Plum Fintech, will lead the U.K. business and oversee Robinhood’s new London office, the blog post notes.
Robinhood offers commission-free cryptocurrency trading. In February 2018, Robinhood mobile trading app launched zero-fee trading of Bitcoin and Ether for the first batch of users in the U.S. Earlier this year, Robinhood received a BitLicense to offer crypto-related services in New York from the New York State Department of Financial Services.
Robinhood Financial is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and also a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.
Last month, the FCA issued a policy statement on cryptocurrencies that said that the agency will not regulate Bitcoin as a part of its guidance on crypto assets.
