Ripple secured preliminary approval for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in Luxembourg on Jan. 14. This marks its second major European regulatory milestone in less than a week. The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) issued a “Green Light Letter” to the enterprise blockchain firm. This designation indicates that the regulator has completed its legal review of the application. The company must now fulfill specific operational requirements to receive final authorization. ...

🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 900 #BTC (79,364,443 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Bitstamphttps://t.co/zgxWF6OzgW ...

🚨 🚨 🚨 663 #BTC (58,564,671 USD) transferred from #Bitstamp to unknown wallethttps://t.co/ddBtrHbxMs ...

🔥 Most Influential: @vladtenevRobinhood has acquired Bitstamp, launched staking services for ether and solana, and added new tokens for US users, including XRP, SOL, and BNB.@FranciscoMemor writes:https://t.co/aryav2CvMP ...

Core Insights - Robinhood is transforming from a commission-free stock trading platform to a significant player in the crypto industry, focusing on blockchain development and tokenized assets [1][2]. Group 1: Company Developments - Robinhood has completed a $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp, enhancing its capabilities in the crypto space with over 50 global licenses and facilitating institutional trading [2]. - The company has launched staking services for ether and solana, introduced perpetual futures in the EU, and expanded its token offerings for U.S. users, including XRP, SOL, and BNB [3]. - Robinhood is developing its own layer 2 blockchain, named Robinhood Chain, aimed at enabling tokenized asset trading with reduced fees and quicker settlement times [3]. Group 2: Industry Perspective - CEO Vlad Tenev believes in the future of the crypto sector, comparing its growth to an unstoppable freight train and asserting that "tokenization is going to eat the entire financial system" [4]. - As Robinhood enhances its crypto ecosystem presence, it is also expanding its prediction markets offerings [4].

Group 1 - Robinhood officially launched a themed event called "YES/NO" on December 16, which is seen as a significant upgrade to its prediction market business and a direct challenge to traditional betting giants like DraftKings and FanDuel, as well as existing platforms like Kalshi [1] - Bank of America warns that this technological shift by a major tech player like Robinhood could fundamentally alter customer acquisition costs and fee structures across the industry [1] - Robinhood's recent announcement of a joint venture with Susquehanna Investment Group aims to reduce its reliance on Kalshi, potentially posing a competitive threat to DraftKings and FanDuel [1] Group 2 - The competition among Robinhood, Kalshi, and Polymarket in event contract fees is intensifying as they vie for user attention against established sports betting apps like FanDuel and DraftKings, which offer recognizable bonuses and promotions [2] - Robinhood plans to acquire a 90% stake in the derivatives exchange MIAXdx by November 2025, aiming to create a new federally regulated derivatives and prediction market trading platform, with the deal expected to close in early 2026 [2] - This acquisition will enable Robinhood to establish a fully autonomous and vertically integrated trading ecosystem, eliminating third-party platform fees and leveraging "zero-fee" and strong liquidity advantages to mainstream event contracts for retail investors [2] Group 3 - The new exchange will be managed by a joint venture, with Robinhood as the controlling party and Susquehanna acting as the liquidity provider from day one, aiming to expand Robinhood's rapidly growing "prediction contract" business [3] - Unlike traditional fixed-odds betting, prediction markets offer real-time pricing based on peer-to-peer pricing, providing more betting options on events that traditional bookmakers cannot cover [3] - Robinhood's prediction market business has seen rapid growth, with 9 billion contracts traded and over 1 million users participating since its launch, contributing to an annualized revenue exceeding $100 million in less than a year [3]

🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 25,387 #ETH (79,497,937 USD) transferred from #Bitstamp to unknown wallethttps://t.co/IaTpYPzdDH ...

🚨 🚨 🚨 16,225 #ETH (51,178,460 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Bitstamphttps://t.co/OKruSny1ej ...

The Kaiko Spot Exchange Ranking is out, and we’re #1 🏆A huge thank-you to our community and partners for trusting us as we continue elevating industry standards in security, liquidity, and product excellence.Next year, we raise the bar we set — again.https://t.co/hE5edVZhLVKaiko (@KaikoData):The latest Kaiko Spot Exchange Ranking is out now, and there was significant movement at the top. The top three global exchanges shifted around, with @cryptocom taking top spot from @krakenfx , while @Bitstamp entered t ...

Group 1 - Robinhood reported a decline in crypto trading volume to $28.6 billion in November, down 12% from October and 19% year-over-year [1] - Equity trading volumes also fell by 37% month-over-month to $201.5 billion, although they increased by 37% year-over-year [2] - Total platform assets for Robinhood decreased by 5% in November to $325 billion [2] Group 2 - The decline in trading volumes raises concerns about a potential cooling of retail trading activity, which could negatively impact earnings for a company reliant on transaction-based revenue [3] - Robinhood's shares dropped by 8% on Thursday, but are still up 216% year-to-date [3]