US fintech giant Robinhood establishes first European hub in Lithuania

Robinhood, a leading US financial services company, has established its first European hub in Lithuania. The company obtained both a Category A financial brokerage license and a crypto asset services provider license, from the Bank of Lithuania. 

Founded in 2013, Robinhood is a leading financial services company headquartered in the United States and publicly traded on Nasdaq. The company operates a trading platform that offers stocks, options, ETFs, and cryptocurrency trading. Serving over 25 million customers worldwide, Robinhood has expanded its services beyond traditional brokerage to include cash management, retirement accounts, and crypto wallet services across multiple markets. 

In Europe, Robinhood has launched a dedicated cryptocurrency trading platform through its Lithuania-based entity, Robinhood Europe, UAB, marking a significant milestone in the company’s global growth strategy. With a crypto asset services provider license Robinhood Europe is authorised to provide crypto asset custody, administration, and transaction services in Lithuania and across the European Economic Area. This represents the first license issued by the Bank of Lithuania under the EU’s MiCA (Markets in Crypto Assets) regulation. 

The Category A financial brokerage license, granted in April, allows Robinhood to offer dealing on own account services, order reception and transmission services, order execution on behalf of clients, proprietary trading, and additional financial services. With both licenses, Robinhood Europe aims to continue expanding its product offering in Europe, bringing a user-friendly investing experience to millions of customers across the region. 

Robinhood is proud to have received the first MiCA license approved by the Bank of Lithuania. Robinhood enjoyed working with the Bank of Lithuania and we had a positive application process. We appreciate the regulator’s collaboration and professionalism throughout this process and their willingness to work on new innovative products with us. 

Johann Kerbrat, General Manager of Crypto at Robinhood 

According to Minister of the Economy and Innovation Lukas Savickas, Robinhood’s expansion aligns with Lithuania’s strategy to diversify its fintech sector beyond payments into wealth management and investment services. 

Lithuania remains the biggest fintech hub in the EU by the number of fintech licenses issued. With one-third of our fintechs being payment companies, we’re now focused on diversifying into other segments. Securing Lithuania’s first MiCA license demonstrates our regulatory framework’s readiness to innovate with new products in Europe that aren’t available elsewhere. 

Lukas Savickas, Minister of the Economy and Innovation 

Robinhood is a global player and one of the few publicly listed retail oriented trading platforms. Its presence in Lithuania is significant for the entire Lithuanian tech and fintech ecosystem. Having such a recognized global brand choose Lithuania as its first European hub sends a strong signal about our country’s potential. 

Elijus Čivilis, General Manager of Invest Lithuania