• Robinhood has agreed to amass WonderFi for US$179 million, marking its entry into Canada.
• The acquisition deal values WonderFi at CA$0.36 per share, a 41% premium.
• The deal contains the acquisition of Bitbuy and Coinsquare platforms.

Robinhood Markets has introduced that it has agreed to amass Vancouver-based WonderFi Applied sciences in an all-cash transaction valued at US$179 million, marking the retail brokerage’s official entry into the Canadian cryptocurrency market.

Beneath the phrases of the deal, WonderFi shareholders will obtain C$0.36 per share, representing a 41% premium over the agency’s closing price earlier than the announcement, in a transaction that values the Canadian agency at roughly C$250 million.

Buyers have responded positively to the information, sending Robinhood shares up 6.4% to commerce round $61 on Wednesday, whereas WonderFi’s inventory on the Toronto Inventory Alternate jumped 34% to C$0.24, highlighting the market’s enthusiasm for cross-border crypto consolidation.

Veteran investor Kevin O’Leary, a outstanding backer of WonderFi and Shark Tank persona, praised the acquisition as a testomony to WonderFi’s “picks and shovels” method, which focuses on sturdy infrastructure moderately than speculative token bets.

O’Leary remarked in a latest interview that the proliferation of stablecoins and real-time settlement capabilities will play a extra decisive function in crypto’s mainstream adoption than volatility-driven price rallies.

Robinhood’s entry into the Canadian market

Robinhood’s enlargement into Canada by way of WonderFi enhances the corporate’s mission to democratize finance for all, tapping right into a market the place retail crypto adoption continues to speed up alongside rising mainstream curiosity.

The acquisition brings underneath Robinhood’s umbrella two of Canada’s most outstanding crypto buying and selling platforms, Bitbuy and Coinsquare, every of which has constructed a loyal consumer base since their respective inceptions.

By integrating WonderFi’s infrastructure and experience, Robinhood positive aspects fast entry to a market that noticed over C$3.57 billion in buying and selling quantity on WonderFi’s platforms throughout fiscal 2024, reflecting a 28% year-over-year enhance in exercise.

All of WonderFi’s current workers, whose ranks now exceed 140 professionals specialising in buyer help and regulatory compliance, will transition to Robinhood, bolstering the US agency’s capability to navigate Canada’s distinct monetary oversight surroundings.

Notably, the acquisition follows Robinhood’s announcement earlier this 12 months that it expects to shut its US$200 million buy of Bitstamp, the Luxembourg-based crypto alternate, within the first half of 2025, additional underscoring the corporate’s international ambitions.

Robinhood is evolving past commission-free equities

The transfer underscores Robinhood’s broader technique to evolve past its origins as a commission-free equities buying and selling app by cultivating a extra diversified, borderless monetary companies ecosystem centred on digital property.

Robinhood’s Chief Government Officer, Vlad Tenev, emphasised that the WonderFi acquisition represents “a critical first step” in establishing the corporate’s Canadian presence, noting that the area’s regulatory framework and investor adoption charges place it as a pure complement to Robinhood’s current markets.

Analysts at Mizuho predicted {that a} profitable Canadian launch might in the end contribute up to $250 million in incremental annual income, assuming Robinhood can leverage WonderFi’s native model recognition and operational footprint.

Robinhood’s Q1 2025 earnings report, launched simply days earlier than the WonderFi deal, showcased a 50% surge in income to $927 million, pushed largely by a $252 million contribution from its crypto buying and selling enterprise.

The corporate’s web earnings of $336 million for the quarter mirrored a 114% enhance year-over-year, positioning Robinhood among the many most worthwhile US fintech platforms in an business nonetheless grappling with regulatory uncertainty.

If executed easily, the acquisition might function a blueprint for Robinhood’s future forays into different regulated markets, leveraging a playbook of buying established, regionally compliant crypto companies moderately than constructing from scratch.