Commission-free trading platform Robinhood Markets (HOOD) has agreed to acquire U.K.-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp for $200 million in an all-cash deal that’s expected to close in the first half of 2025.

Major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is exploring a potential final funding round before a potential initial public offering (IPO), after receiving inquiries from potential investors during the current market cycle.

Franklin Templeton, a major asset manager with over $1.6 trillion under management that has issued a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US, is exploring the launch of a new cryptocurrency fund that would invest beyond BTC and ETH.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Robinhood Acquires Bitstamp for $200M in All-Cash Deal
• Kraken Eyes $100M Funding Round Ahead of Potential IPO
• Franklin Templeton Plans New Crypto Fund Beyond Bitcoin and Ether
• Crypto Market Movers – JASMY, ALICE, FLOKI

Robinhood Acquires Bitstamp for $200M in All-Cash Deal

Commission-free trading platform Robinhood Markets (HOOD) has agreed to acquire U.K.-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp for $200 million in an all-cash deal that’s expected to close in the first half of 2025.

The acquisition was advised on by Barclays Capital and Galaxy Digital, and was touted as a “major step” in Robinhood’s growth by Johann Kerbrat, general manager of Robinhood Crypto, who added Bitstamp’s “highly trusted and long standing global exchange has shown resilience through market cycles.”

Kerbrat added the move better positions the exchange to expand its footprint to outside of the United States and welcome institutional customers.

Founded in 2011, Bitstamp is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Europe, offering spot trading for over 85 cryptocurrencies and offering institutional lending and staking services, among others. Bitstamp is also one of the most regulated exchanges, with over 50 licenses and registrations globally along with regular audits.

This acquisition comes after Robinhood started offering crypto trading to clients in the European Union in December 2023.

Kraken Eyes $100M Funding Round Ahead of Potential IPO

Major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is exploring a potential final funding round before a potential initial public offering (IPO), after receiving inquiries from potential investors during the current market cycle.

The exchange is reportedly seeking to raise over $100 million in a pre-IPO round, capitalizing on renewed investor interest in the sector that comes amid Robinhood's recent acquisition of crypto exchange Bitstamp, further solidifying the appeal of crypto platforms.

Kraken itself has harbored IPO ambitions since at least 2021. Sources claim Kraken is searching for a “marquee” company to join its board and guide it towards a successful IPO, with discussions so far being at a preliminary stage and no formal documentation being exchanged.

Kraken's previous attempts at going public were hampered by crypto price downturns and regulatory hurdles. The exchange settled one case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last year, but another case regarding unregistered securities activities remains ongoing. Similar cases were brought against other exchanges including Coinbase.

Fueled by the current market surge, Kraken's revenue is projected to be between $1 billion and $2 billion this year, compared to Coinbase's forecasted $5.9 billion.

Franklin Templeton Plans New Crypto Fund Beyond Bitcoin and Ether

Franklin Templeton, a major asset manager with over $1.6 trillion under management that has issued a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US, is exploring the launch of a new cryptocurrency fund that would invest beyond BTC and ETH.

According to a report by The Information citing anonymous sources, Franklin Templeton is considering offering staking rewards in the fund, allowing investors to generate yield by validating transactions on Proof-of-Stake networks.

While Franklin Templeton’s existing Bitcoin ETF hasn't achieved the same level of success as similar products from BlackRock and Fidelity, it has over $350 million in assets under management. The firm has also applied to list a spot Ether ETF.

Crypto Market Movers – JASMY, ALICE, FLOKI

Several tokens are leading the charge in the last 7-day period. Some of these are well-known cryptocurrencies with more liquid trading pairs, so we’ll be focusing on these over low-cap cryptos that may have higher percentage changes.

JasmyCoin (JASMY) - JASMY is a cryptocurrency based on the ERC 20 standard. It is designed to be used for transferring tokens as a proof of value exchange or payment for services by individuals and businesses. The vision behind JasmyCoin is to build an economic community where data is treated as a personal asset, and the value of this data is returned to the individual who owns it.

My Neighbor Alice (ALICE) - My Neighbor Alice is a blockchain-based multiplayer game with elements of decentralized finance (DeFi). The native token of the game, $ALICE, is an ERC-20 utility token within this ecosystem, used for various in-game functions and governance. The token has a finite supply of 100 million $ALICE.

Floki (FLOKI) - Floki Inu (FLOKI) is a cryptocurrency token based on the Ethereum blockchain. It belongs to the family of cryptocurrencies known as meme coins, largely due to its playful branding around the "Inu" or "dog" theme.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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