Robinhood, the stock-trading app, is expanding further into the cryptocurrency market by acquiring the crypto exchange Bitstamp. Robinhood announced on Thursday that it expects the transaction to be valued at approximately $200 million, with the deal set to close in the first half of 2025.

Renowned for its stock-trading services that enable everyday consumers to invest in major publicly-traded companies, Robinhood has been increasingly venturing into the cryptocurrency space over recent years. The platform has introduced support for several popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, although it limited the availability of some cryptocurrencies last year due to regulatory scrutiny in the U.S.

Today’s acquisition not only underscores Robinhood’s ongoing push into the cryptocurrency market but also highlights its efforts toward international expansion. The company launched its core stock-trading service in the U.K. last November and began offering crypto trading in the European Union shortly thereafter.

Bitstamp, founded in Europe in 2011, is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges globally, facilitating cryptocurrency trading for both companies and individuals. The exchange was acquired by the Belgian investment company NXMH in 2018, and last year, Ripple purchased a stake in Bitstamp.

Robinhood went public in mid-2021, and like many firms that experienced success during the pandemic, the company saw its fortunes decline as the world and investor sentiment returned to normal. Its IPO valuation of $32 billion soared to over $40 billion at one point before falling to well below $10 billion for much of the past two years.

However, over the past year, Robinhood’s valuation has more than doubled to $19 billion, driven by record earnings. In its Q1 2024 report released in May, Robinhood reported a 16% year-on-year increase in monthly active users, reaching 13.7 million, and a 40% rise in revenues to $618 million. Significantly, the company noted that transaction-based revenue had increased by 59% to $329 million, largely due to a 232% surge in cryptocurrency income, which amounted to $126 million.