Robinhood Broadens Its Presence in Canada by Acquiring WonderFi

On Tuesday, Robinhood revealed its acquisition of Canadian cryptocurrency leader WonderFi for CA$250 million (around $178.56 million) in an all-cash deal, aiming to penetrate Canada’s growing digital asset market.

WonderFi oversees two regulated cryptocurrency platforms, Bitbuy and Coinsquare, with over CA$2.1 billion in assets under management. The agreement provides WonderFi shareholders CA$0.36 per share, representing a 41% premium over the company’s latest closing price. (WonderFi became public in Canada through a reverse takeover in 2021.)

This collaboration follows Robinhood’s acquisition of the European exchange Bitstamp for $200 million last year, further solidifying its strategy for global expansion.

The WonderFi team, including CEO Dean Skurka, will join Robinhood Crypto, adding to the roughly 140 employees that Robinhood already has in Toronto.

The transaction is expected to close in the latter part of this year.

In December, TechCrunch interviewed Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, who expressed optimism regarding a new U.S. administration more favorable to the crypto industry, along with Robinhood’s heightened focus on cryptocurrency. “I believe crypto is the next step in a long line of technological innovations that have positively transformed the underlying infrastructure of the financial system,” Tenev stated.