Robinhood Crypto Expands Services in Spain

Robinhood Crypto (ticker HOOD) announced on Tuesday that users in Spain can now utilize the platform’s trading, staking, and investing services. This expansion marks another step for the company in Europe, coinciding with the implementation of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulations.

Last year, the U.S.-based trading platform disclosed its plans to grow its services in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Asia.

> “In terms of total addressable market, the EU is as big as the U.S.,” said Johann Kerbrat, general manager of Robinhood’s crypto unit. “It’s definitely an interesting market for us.”

In October, Robinhood Crypto initiated crypto transfers for European customers, allowing them to deposit and withdraw around two dozen tokens, which became one of the most requested features. To encourage user growth, the platform temporarily offered a 1% reward on the value of crypto deposits.

The commission-free trading platform entered the European market at the end of 2023, yet it took months before users could withdraw tokens or access numerous features. In March 2024, brokerage operations were launched in the U.K. As part of its strategy, the company has gradually introduced “localized versions” of its app in Italy, Poland, and Lithuania.

> “Since launching at the end of last year, our customers in Europe have told us loud and clear that they want an app that provides local language support and products that help them earn additional passive income,” Kerbrat stated previously.

In July, Robinhood also announced plans to offer cryptocurrency futures in both the U.S. and Europe following its $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp, expected to be finalized in the first half of the new year. Bitstamp holds over 50 licenses and registrations globally, including in Singapore, the U.K., and the E.U.

Several U.S.-based companies, including Coinbase and Kraken, have announced European expansions in anticipation of MiCA’s rollout, which harmonizes rules and consumer protections for crypto actors across the 27-nation trading bloc. MiCA came into full effect at the end of December.

Bernstein analysts noted that Robinhood, generally viewed as a more conservative platform due to its slower listing of tokens and features, could significantly benefit from a pro-crypto Trump administration, predicting a revenue leap for the platform. Notably, Robinhood made the unusual decision to list Donald Trump’s “Official Trump” memecoin, which launched last Friday.