Cody McGrath 
According to reports, FTX crypto derivatives exchange is considering acquiring the popular crypto trading application Robinhood.
Bloomberg stated on Monday that FTX is holding internal discussions about whether to acquire Robinhood, citing people with knowledge of the situation.
Although no choice has been made regarding a takeover, FTX is thought to be seriously considering it. According to Bloomberg’s contact, FTX has not yet approached Robinhood with a buyout bid and may still decide not to proceed with a purchase.
In a follow-up comment to Bloomberg, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried explained that while there were no ongoing merger discussions, his company was enthusiastic about the prospect of working with Robinhood:
“We are excited about Robinhood’s business prospects and potential ways we could partner with them […] That being said, there are no active M&A conversations with Robinhood.”
The connection between FTX and Bankman-Fried and Robinhood is not new. It was revealed in May that the CEO of FTX had invested $650 million in a 7.6 percent stake in the discount brokerage.
At the time, Bankman-Fried claimed that although the purchase demonstrated his opinion that Robinhood is an “interesting investment,” he had no plans to alter or exert control over the company.
FTX has shown no indications of slowing down its growth despite the beginning of the crypto winter. In addition, earlier this month, FTX agreed to buy Canadian cryptocurrency platform Bitvo for an unknown sum after putting forth a $250 million bailout bid to Bitcoin lender BlockFi.
FTX declared earlier this month that it would not be cutting its workforce despite widespread layoffs in the cryptocurrency exchange industry. On June 6, Bankman-Fried tweeted that his exchange intended to “keep developing” going forward.