Robinhood Expands Trading Platform to the UK

Much like its fictional namesake, trading platform Robinhood is now a part of the United Kingdom.

The company marked its international debut Thursday (Nov. 30) as it began offering brokerage services to customers in Great Britain, letting them trade more than 6,000 U.S. listed stocks.

“Since we launched Robinhood a decade ago, it’s always been our vision to expand internationally,” Robinhood CEO and Co-founder Vlad Tenev said in a press release. “As a hub for innovation, global finance and top tech talent, the United Kingdom is an ideal place for us to launch our first international brokerage product.”

Robinhood plans to grant access to its app on a rolling basis during the following weeks, reaching full availability early next year, according to the release. U.K. residents can join the waitlist now and will be informed when they can sign up for early access.

The launch follows other attempts by Robinhood to enter the U.K., including its abandoned attempt to acquire cryptocurrency trading platform Ziglu.

Robinhood said earlier this month it also plans to launch crypto trading in the European Union following its debut in the U.K. The expansion into international markets is part of Robinhood’s strategy to gain market share and widen its audience.

The EU expansion announcement came during the company’s earnings call, where it reported a 55% decrease in crypto trading revenues compared to the prior year.

“This decline in revenues is significant, considering the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies and the growing interest in crypto trading among investors,” the report said.

Still, Robinhood’s total net revenues for the third quarter of 2023 increased by 29% year over year to $467 million.

This month also saw reports that Google owner Alphabet sold its entire stake in Robinhood. The tech giant had initially shed about 90% of its stock in August and dissolved the rest of its holdings earlier this month.

Robinhood has struggled somewhat this year amid rocky macroeconomic conditions and a sustained period of higher interest rates.

The company has seen its base of monthly active users (MAUs) shrink, announcing in September that that figure was at 10.6 million for August, down from 13.3 million during the same month in 2022.