Robinhood opens zero-fee crypto trading in UK via Bitstamp, adds AI assistant

Robinhood has rolled crypto trading into its main UK app for the first time. Users get zero-fee access to more than 50 tokens through the Bitstamp subsidiary, and a new generative AI widget summarizes market moves alongside the trade ticket.

The launch was announced Thursday. Eligible UK customers gain access this week. Digital assets now sit in the same app that already serves the firm’s UK stocks, shares ISAs, options and futures customers. The move leans on 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.”

Fees and custody

UK customers pay no trading fees, no account maintenance fees and no custody fees, according to The Block. The one charge is a 0.1% foreign exchange fee on sterling conversions. That rises to 0.3% for certain weekend transactions.

The positioning targets incumbents the company says “rely on opaque pricing structures and apply wide spreads that can erode customers’ returns.” Zero-commission trading with a disclosed FX spread, in other words, beats a headline-free broker that hides cost in the price.

Bitstamp U.K. Ltd executes and custodies every trade. The entity is 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. Bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), XRP and HYPE are among them.

Cortex

Robinhood is also launching “Robinhood Cortex Digests for Crypto.” The generative AI widget analyzes breaking news, market data, technical indicators and the firm’s proprietary research. It then explains in plain English what is driving price moves in individual tokens.

The feature sits inside the app. Robinhood framed it as lowering 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 to UK developers. That is a layer-2 blockchain built on Arbitrum. The network has generated more than $18 billion in decentralized exchange volume and surpassed $840 million in total value locked since launching July 1, The Block reported.

Quarter context

The UK push lands against a softer quarter for Robinhood’s crypto business. The firm reported $100 million in crypto transaction revenue for the second quarter on July 29. That was down 38% from a year earlier. Prediction markets revenue hit $156 million and overtook crypto for the first time.

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 said that during the same call.

The sources do not detail the full token list, 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 in either source.