FTX pondering Robinhood takeover

When is a bailout not a bailout?

Market moves

Robinhood, much like the rest of the crypto market, has seen better days. While the crypto crash might have semi-stabilized, a huge amount of damage has been done, with the ‘crypto winter’ now setting in. Responding to the downturn, Robinhood has cut its workforce by 9% while its stock touched historic lows.

But is there a reprieve on the horizon? In May, CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried announced his 7.6% stake in the platform, the equivalent of around $648 million. And having made a 13D filing, which opens the door to a future takeover bid, there’s a huge amount of speculation about whether FTX could be going all the way.

Hard balling

Bankman-Fried is playing things down for the moment though, and hasn’t confirmed that there are any discussions in process to launch a formal takeover – but even the possibility has given Robinhood’s stock a healthy boost.

And it’s not just Robinhood that Bankman-Fried is taking a closer look at, either. He’s been providing whole bailouts for blockchain businesses, extending up to $250 million of revolving credit BlockFi, and $500 million to Voyager Digital. So, crypto winter or not, here’s one man who has eyes on a golden summer.