Crypto-friendly Robinhood inches closer to UK with local CEO appointment

Cryptocurrency-friendly trading platform Robinhood is moving forward with plans to launch services in the United Kingdom with a new major local appointment.

Robinhood has appointed former Barclays executive Jordan Sinclair as the new CEO of its United Kingdom entity, according to data from the Financial Conduct Authority.

According to FCA, Sinclair was approved by the authority to perform the CEO role at Robinhood’s U.K. arm on July 18.

Prior to joining Robinhood, Sinclair was a managing director at the European fintech firm Freetrade for 13 months, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also worked as a director of group strategy at the financial firm Barclays and a corporate banker at Wells Fargo.

The latest hiring comes in line with Robinhood’s long-running plans to launch a platform in the United Kingdom. Robinhood’s U.K. expansion has been rumored since at least early 2019 but has been delayed multiple times. In April 2022, Robinhood renewed its expansion plans by acquiring the British crypto firm Ziglu.

Local reports in mid-July suggested that Robinhood had started the process of hiring key executives for its U.K. business. The firm reportedly expects to launch its service in the U.K. by the end of 2023.

Robinhood’s entrance to the U.K. comes amid United States regulators continuing to scrutinize major cryptocurrency firms. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is currently pursuing multiple cases related to crypto firms in the country, including against companies like Coinbase, Ripple, Binance.US and others.

As a major crypto platform in the United States, Robinhood has also faced action by the SEC. In February, Robinhood Markets received an investigative subpoena from the SEC over its digital asset business’ crypto listings, custody and platform operations. In June, Robinhood announced plans to cease support for coins like Cardano’s ADA (ADA), Polygon’s MATIC (MATIC) and Solana’s SOL (SOL) after the SEC labeled them unregistered securities.

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