Robinhood took its first step toward international expansion Thursday by launching stock trading services in the United Kingdom. The popular trading app now lets Brits trade over 6,000 U.S. stocks.
Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev claims that It’s always been their vision to expand internationally, and that the UK is an ideal place for us to launch our first international brokerage product.
The company plans to roll out app access over the coming weeks, reaching full availability in early 2023. British residents can join a waitlist for early access.
The UK launch follows Robinhood’s abandoned attempt to acquire UK-based crypto trading platform Ziglu. The company also plans to bring crypto trading to the EU this year as it widens its global audience.
The international push comes as Robinhood saw crypto trading revenue drop 55% versus last year last quarter. But total Q3 net revenue rose 29% annually to $467 million.
Robinhood has faced challenges in 2022 amidst high interest rates and shaky economics. Its monthly active users fell to 10.6 million in August, down from 13.3 million in August 2021.
Major stakeholder Alphabet also recently dissolved its entire Robinhood stake after initially selling 90% in August.
But the trading app pioneer hopes its global expansion strategy will spur growth and diversify its customer base as it tries to replicate its domestic success overseas.