June 6 (Reuters) - Trading platform Robinhood Markets ( HOOD )

said on Thursday it has agreed to buy cryptocurrency

exchange Bitstamp for around $200 million in cash, speeding up a

broader push into digital assets with its biggest ever deal.

The 11-year old trading app, popular among retail traders,

has been looking to expand its product offerings to mature into

a full-fledged financial services provider.

The acquisition of Bitstamp, which was founded in 2011 and

holds 50 active licenses and registrations globally, puts

Robinhood in direct competition with industry giants such as

Binance and Coinbase.

Bitstamp will power the growth of Robinhood Crypto and is

set to become its first institutional business. Bitstamp's core

spot exchange, popular in Europe and Asia, has over 85 tradable

assets and includes products like staking and lending.

"We are in our early days in the EU and we are excited to

keep expanding there and beyond. The acquisition of Bitstamp

will accelerate our global expansion," Johann Kerbrat, Vice

President and General Manager of Robinhood Crypto, told Reuters.

The deal, which is expected to close in the first half of

2025, comes at a time when Robinhood's crypto business is seeing

rapid growth but also facing regulatory hurdles in the U.S.

Kerbrat said the company intends to keep communicating with

regulators as it moves forward.

Robinhood's crypto business was the driving force behind a

massive first-quarter earnings beat in May, but that same week,

it had also disclosed that it received a 'Wells' notice from the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The notice signals

possible upcoming enforcement action.

The markets regulator has argued that crypto tokens should

be considered securities and subject to its registration rules.

Crypto firms, on the other hand, have accused the SEC of

overreach.

Robinhood's stock has surged 69% this year after it vowed to

chase 'profitable growth'. Analysts expect it is primed for more

gains amid a resurgence of retail trading and increasing crypto

adoption.