Robinhood to push into bitcoin and ether futures

California-based trading platform Robinhood has announced plans to offer U.S. customers access to bitcoin and ether futures, in addition to gold, oil, and other futures, through a new partnership with CME Group.

Although Robinhood gained prominence during the GameStop short squeeze of 2021, the company has struggled with regulatory obstacles.

Last year, Robinhood acquired the crypto exchange Bitstamp for approximately $200 million, positioning it as a major competitor to rival exchanges like Coinbase and Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume.

The strategy to acquire Bitstamp was partly inspired by Bitstamp’s successful accrual of multiple regulatory licenses around the world, including in key jurisdictions like Europe, which recently strengthened its crypto regulations with the passage of the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework.

Last year, Robinhood also bought Marex FCM, a U.S.-based firm with access to multiple U.S. futures licenses, in a signal of its upcoming push into the crypto futures space.

In the U.S., Robinhood and its crypto arm have weathered multiple regulatory setbacks. Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) levied a penalty of $45 million on Robinhood Markets for its failure to investigate dubious transactions on the platform, implement anti-theft measures, address cybersecurity gaps, and retain relevant data, among other violations. The move follows the SEC’s issuance of a Wells Notice to the company last year, a warning of impending enforcement action.

Last September, the retail trading firm’s crypto arm reached a $3.9 million settlement with California’s Department of Justice for limiting customers’ ability to withdraw crypto funds and violating disclosure rules.