Robinhood Expands to UK with New CEO Appointment

A trading portal that supports cryptocurrency Robinhood is advancing its plans to launch services in the United Kingdom by appointing a significant local executive.

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

According to the FCA, Sinclair was authorized on July 18 to serve as CEO of Robinhood’s U.K. subsidiary. According to his LinkedIn profile, Sinclair served as managing director at the European fintech company Freetrade for thirteen months before joining Robinhood.

He also held the positions of director of group strategy at Barclays and corporate financier at Wells Fargo. The most recent hiring is consistent with Robinhood’s long-standing intentions to launch a platform in the UK.

Robinhood’s expansion into the United Kingdom has been rumored since at least the beginning of 2019 but has been repeatedly delayed. Robinhood reaffirmed its expansion intentions in April 2022 by acquiring the British cryptocurrency firm Ziglu.

Mid-July local reports indicated that Robinhood had begun recruiting key executives for its U.K. operations. The company reportedly anticipates launching its service in the United Kingdom by the end of 2023.

The entrance of Robinhood into the United Kingdom coincides with the continued scrutiny of major cryptocurrency firms by U.S. regulators.

Currently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is pursuing multiple crypto-related cases, including against Coinbase, Ripple, Binance.US, and others.

As a prominent crypto platform in the United States, Robinhood has also been subject to SEC action.The SEC issued a subpoena to Robinhood Markets in February for its digital asset business’ crypto listings, custody, and platform operations.

In June, Robinhood announced that it would discontinue support for unregistered securities such as Cardano’s ADA, Polygon’s, and Solana’s.