Robinhood has brought crypto trading into its main UK app. The move gives users zero-fee access to more than 50 tokens through the firm’s Bitstamp subsidiary and ships with a generative AI widget that summarizes market moves.
Announced Thursday and rolling out to eligible UK customers this week, the launch folds digital assets into the same app that already handles stocks, shares ISAs, options and futures. It is Robinhood’s most aggressive push into British retail since its equity rollout there. The engine behind it is the exchange Robinhood bought for $200 million last year.
“We’re taking another major step toward becoming the all-in-one investment platform for the UK,” Jordan Sinclair, president of Robinhood U.K. and general manager of Bitstamp U.K. Ltd, told CoinDesk. “A new wave of UK investors sees digital assets as an important part of a diversified portfolio.”
The fee structure
UK customers pay no trading fees, no account maintenance fees and no custody fees, according to The Block. The only charge: a 0.1% foreign exchange fee on sterling conversions, which rises to 0.3% for certain weekend transactions.
That positions Robinhood against incumbents the company says “rely on opaque pricing structures and apply wide spreads that can erode customers’ returns.” The pitch is straightforward. Zero-commission trading with a disclosed FX spread beats a broker that bakes cost into the price.
Trading is executed and custodied through Bitstamp U.K. Ltd, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority as a crypto asset service provider. Crypto holdings are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service. That is a standard carve-out for unregulated digital assets in the UK.
Over 50 cryptos are available at launch. The list includes bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), XRP and HYPE.
AI assist
Also shipping: “Robinhood Cortex Digests for Crypto.” The generative AI widget analyzes breaking news, market data, technical indicators and the firm’s proprietary research, then explains in plain English what is driving price moves in individual tokens.
The feature lives inside the app. Robinhood framed it as a way to lower the barrier for investors who want context alongside the trade ticket. No detail was given on which model underpins it.
The company is simultaneously opening its Robinhood Chain, a layer-2 blockchain built on Arbitrum, to UK developers. Since launching July 1, the network has generated more than $18 billion in decentralized exchange volume and surpassed $840 million in total value locked, The Block reported.
The earnings backdrop
The UK push lands against a softer quarter for Robinhood’s crypto business. On July 29, the firm reported $100 million in crypto transaction revenue for the second quarter. That was down 38% from a year earlier. Prediction markets revenue overtook crypto for the first time, hitting $156 million.
Overall results were stronger. Total net revenue climbed 32% year over year to $1.31 billion. Net income rose 48% to $573 million.
“We delivered record revenues and drove new highs across equity, option, and event contract volumes, as we continue to win market share,” CFO Shiv Verma said on the earnings call.
Robinhood Chain, meantime, became the fastest EVM-compatible chain to reach 100 million transactions. CEO Vlad Tenev noted that during the same call.
What we don’t know
Neither source details the full list of 50-plus tokens, the rollout’s completion timeline or any FCA registration beyond Bitstamp U.K.’s status as a crypto asset service provider. No rival UK broker was quoted.
