Bitstamp Expands Institutional Business in Australia

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp is seeking to expand its institutional business in Australia, continuing to grow its presence in the Asia Pacific region after Robinhood’s planned $200 million acquisition of the exchange.

In an interview with The Block at the Token2049 conference in Singapore, Bobby Zagotta, Bitstamp’s global chief commercial officer, discussed the company’s focus on institutional clients in Asia.

“We see Asia as a great opportunity,” Zagotta noted. “Hong Kong and Singapore are our primary markets… We also have a growing business in Australia. In 2024, we identified Australia as a particular geography we’d like to focus on.”

Zagotta mentioned that local operators generally service companies in Australia within the exchange space.

“There are certain value propositions we can bring as a global exchange operator,” he explained. “They don’t have a lot of choices is my belief today. Binance is there. I believe Kraken is there but in limited ways.”

Zagotta, also CEO of Bitstamp US, revealed that currently, Asia accounts for 20% of Bitstamp’s global revenue, in contrast to Europe, which constitutes approximately 65%.

Robinhood Acquisition

In June, Robinhood announced its plans to acquire Bitstamp in a deal projected at $200 million, expected to finalize in the first half of 2025.

Zagotta stated that the exchange is in the process of acquiring regulatory approvals for the deal, indicating positive progress.

“We’re confident in that timeline,” he remarked. “As soon as the regulatory approval is completed, there’ll be the change of control. So it’s kind of business as usual until that.”

Upon finalization, Robinhood could significantly enhance Bitstamp’s retail client flows.

“What we’re most excited about is that Robinhood has a very large retail crypto buying and selling base, and that flow is likely to come into our markets and make our markets very attractive.”