X1 specialises in offering no-fee credit cards that reward cardholders on each purchase. By acquiring the company, Robinhood takes another step in its journey to democratise finance for all and address the entirety of its customers’ critical financial needs. In essence, the acquisition of X1 will allow Robinhood to provide its customers access to credit.
X1 representatives cited by Robinhood’s Newsroom highlighted the shared vision between the two companies and talked about their initial goals of creating a different kind of credit card that would make financial markets more accessible to the general public.
J.P. Morgan Securities took on the role of Robinhood’s exclusive financial advisor for the deal, which is expected to reach approximately USD 95 million in cash. The deal is still subject to customary closing adjustments and conditions, and Robinhood expects it to close in Q3 2023. As part of the acquisition, the X1 team will be onboarded to Robinhood, including the company’s co-founders.
In a bid to provide more flexibility and easier access to markets, Robinhood launched a 24-hour trading service named 24 Hour Market in May 2023. The launch made Robinhood the only US retail brokerage to offer 24/5 trading of single-name stocks.
By leveraging the flexibility of this new service, traders gained the ability to place limit orders to buy whole shares of 43 of the most traded ETFs and individual stocks, including TSLA, AMZN and AAPL. The service was designed to be available 24 hours a day, five days a week, with trading hours running from 8:00 pm ET on Sunday to 8:00 pm ET on Friday.
According to Robinhood, apart from allowing users to invest outside regular market hours, the new system can also benefit advanced traders by allowing them to act in real-time to manage their portfolios and adapt to new information as it unfolds.
In February 2023, Robinhood revealed that it received a subpoena from the SEC over crypto custody and listings. Specifically, the United States Securities Exchange Commission has subpoenaed Robinhood Markets in December 2022, a month after cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy and shook the entire market. Robinhood Markets revealed the investigative subpoena as part of a 10-K filing, and company representatives clarified that it had something to do with its cryptocurrency listings and custody services.
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