Robinhood Hires a New UK CEO in Its Third Attempt to Launch Abroad

• Robinhood hired Jordan Sinclair as the CEO for its UK new expansion.
• This is the third time Robinhood plans to launch in the UK.
• It’s not clear whether the application will allow cryptocurrency trading in the UK as it needs to be registered with FCA.

Robinhood has recently hired Jordan Dane Sinclair for the position of CEO for its UK expansion which is planned to take place by the end of this year. This is Robinhood’s latest attempt to launch in the UK. Before joining Robinhood, Sinclair was a managing director at Freetrade, an investment company in London.

Robinhood, the US stock trading application, has attempted to launch in the UK twice before. In 2019, Robinhood secured a license from the Financial Conduct Authority and encouraged people to sign up for a waitlist for the UK platform ahead of the full launch. Moreover, the company had plans to acquire London-based crypto trading firm Ziglu.

However, the company’s previous UK expansion was canceled in 2020 over allegations of misleading customers. Robinhood was also criticized by politicians after the suicide of a 20-year-old who mistakenly believed he had lost $730,000. Sean Casten, an American businessman and U.S. representative, stated that Robinhood must take some of the blame for the incident. “If [Robinhood] is going to continue to market itself to young & inexperienced investors, it must take action to ensure they’re protected.”

Wander Rutgers, former president of Robinhood’s UK company told CNBC in a 2019 interview, “We’re bringing the best of years of product development in the U.S. to U.K. customers.”

But, after the allegations, Robinhood announced that they are closing their waitlist and taking down their UK website. “The world has changed a lot over the past several months and we’re adapting to it. On a company level, we’ve come to recognize that our efforts are currently best spent on strengthening our core business in the US and making further investments in our foundational systems.“

Additionally, Robinhood has been struggling financially according to The Business Journals. The US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined the company $70 million in 2021 over technical issues. Furthermore, in 2022 its revenue fell 25% from the year before. 

One of Robinhood’s trading options is cryptocurrencies. It’s not yet clear whether cryptocurrency trading would be available in the UK, as the company needs to secure crypto registration with the FCA.