Crypto exchange FTX denies it is acquiring Robinhood

San Francisco, June 28

Global crypto exchange FTX has clarified that it is not in active talks to acquire Silicon Valley-based online trading app Robinhood, the media reported on Tuesday.

A TechCrunch report said that FTX is "excited" about Robinhood's business prospects but is not talking about acquiring the platform.

"We are excited about Robinhood's business prospects and potential ways we could partner with them, and I have always been impressed by the business that Vlad and his team have built," FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was quoted as saying in the report.

"That being said there are no active M&A conversations with Robinhood," he added.

Earlier media reports claimed that FTX was exploring opportunities to acquire Robinhood.

A Robinhood spokesperson said that the company has dual-class shareholder setting where founders control more than half of its voting power.

"As such, no deal can be struck to purchase the company without their explicit approval," said the report.

Last month, Bankman-Fried announced that he bought a 7.6 per cent stake in Robinhood Markets.

Robinhood facilities commission-free trades of stocks, exchange-traded funds and cryptocurrencies via a mobile app introduced in March 2015.

The company's revenue comes from three main sources: interest earned on customers' cash balances, selling order information to high-frequency traders and margin lending.

Leading crypto change FTX is also acquiring a stake in the beleaguered crypto lending firm BlockFi.

According to Wall Street Journal, FTX is currently in discussions with BlockFi regarding the stake in the firm.

The acquisition talks came as BlockFi secured a $250 million line of credit from FTX, which the crypto industry largely recognised as a "bailout."