Monat: Mai 2025

• Robinhood has agreed to acquire WonderFi for US$179 million, marking its entry into Canada.
• The acquisition deal values WonderFi at CA$0.36 per share, a 41% premium.
• The deal includes the acquisition of Bitbuy and Coinsquare platforms.

Robinhood Markets has announced that it has agreed to acquire Vancouver-based WonderFi Technologies in an all-cash transaction valued at US$179 million, marking the retail brokerage’s official entry into the Canadian cryptocurrency market.

Under the terms of the deal, WonderFi shareholders will receive C$0.36 per share, representing a 41% premium over the firm’s closing price before the announcement, in a transaction that values the Canadian firm at approximately C$250 million.

Investors have responded positively to the news, sending Robinhood shares up 6.4% to trade around $61 on Wednesday, while WonderFi’s stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange jumped 34% to C$0.24, highlighting the market’s enthusiasm for cross-border crypto consolidation.

Veteran investor Kevin O’Leary, a prominent backer of WonderFi and Shark Tank personality, praised the acquisition as a testament to WonderFi’s “picks and shovels” approach, which focuses on durable infrastructure rather than speculative token bets.

O’Leary remarked in a recent interview that the proliferation of stablecoins and real-time settlement capabilities will play a more decisive role in crypto’s mainstream adoption than volatility-driven price rallies.

Robinhood’s entry into the Canadian market

Robinhood’s expansion into Canada via WonderFi complements the company’s mission to democratize finance for all, tapping into a market where retail crypto adoption continues to accelerate alongside growing mainstream interest.

The acquisition brings under Robinhood’s umbrella two of Canada’s most prominent crypto trading platforms, Bitbuy and Coinsquare, each of which has built a loyal user base since their respective inceptions.

By integrating WonderFi’s infrastructure and expertise, Robinhood gains immediate access to a market that saw over C$3.57 billion in trading volume on WonderFi’s platforms during fiscal 2024, reflecting a 28% year-over-year increase in activity.

All of WonderFi’s existing employees, whose ranks now exceed 140 professionals specialising in customer support and regulatory compliance, will transition to Robinhood, bolstering the US firm’s ability to navigate Canada’s distinct financial oversight environment.

Notably, the acquisition follows Robinhood’s announcement earlier this year that it expects to close its US$200 million purchase of Bitstamp, the Luxembourg-based crypto exchange, in the first half of 2025, further underscoring the company’s global ambitions.

Robinhood is evolving beyond commission-free equities

The move underscores Robinhood’s broader strategy to evolve beyond its origins as a commission-free equities trading app by cultivating a more diversified, borderless financial services ecosystem centred on digital assets.

Robinhood’s Chief Executive Officer, Vlad Tenev, emphasised that the WonderFi acquisition represents “a critical first step” in establishing the company’s Canadian presence, noting that the region’s regulatory framework and investor adoption rates position it as a natural complement to Robinhood’s existing markets.

Analysts at Mizuho predicted that a successful Canadian launch could ultimately contribute up to $250 million in incremental annual revenue, assuming Robinhood can leverage WonderFi’s local brand recognition and operational footprint.

Robinhood’s Q1 2025 earnings report, released just days before the WonderFi deal, showcased a 50% surge in revenue to $927 million, driven in large part by a $252 million contribution from its crypto trading business.

The company’s net income of $336 million for the quarter reflected a 114% increase year-over-year, positioning Robinhood among the most profitable US fintech platforms in an industry still grappling with regulatory uncertainty.

If executed smoothly, the acquisition could serve as a blueprint for Robinhood’s future forays into other regulated markets, leveraging a playbook of acquiring established, locally compliant crypto services rather than building from scratch.

The post Robinhood expands into Canada with WonderFi acquisition appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Hashed deposit of 18.45 million SAND to Binance signals a possible sell-off.
• The Sandbox (SAND) price, which has risen by 32.6% over the week, has dropped 4.1% today.
• The key levels to watch are the support at $0.31 and the resistance at $0.3627.

The Sandbox (SAND) has been capturing attention in the cryptocurrency market, with its price climbing 32.6% over the past week to $0.3517.

Despite this impressive gain, the token has faced a 4.1% decline in the last 24 hours.

Adding to the market dynamics, crypto investment firm Hashed recently deposited 18.45 million SAND tokens, valued at approximately $6.3 million, to Binance.

Hashed(@hashed_official) deposited 18.45M $SAND($6.3M) to #Binance 2 hours ago.

Hashed is very good at buying low and selling high—just last month, they withdrew 11.36M $SAND($2.9M) from #Binance at $0.26. Since then, $SAND is up 35%.https://t.co/NbfRQu5wf2 pic.twitter.com/LYmx4WQxkG

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 13, 2025

This significant transaction has sparked discussions among traders and analysts about its potential impact on SAND’s price trajectory.

Recent SAND price movements

Over the past 24 hours, SAND has traded between $0.337 and $0.3706, reflecting the inherent volatility in the cryptocurrency market.

Despite the recent dip, the token has shown resilience, with a remarkable 32.6% increase over the past seven days, moving from a low of $0.2641 to a high of $0.3679.

Looking at a broader timeframe, SAND has gained 17.4% over the last 14 days and 33.2% over the past month, indicating a strong upward trend.

However, it’s worth noting that over the past year, the token has decreased by 16.7%, highlighting the cyclical nature of cryptocurrency investments.

Impact of Hashed’s strategic token movement

Notably, today’s SAND transaction, valued at around $6.3 million, follows a strategic withdrawal by Hashed last month.

On April 10, 2025, at 3:00 PM UTC, Hashed withdrew 11.36 million SAND tokens from Binance when the price was $0.26, totalling $2.9 million.

Since then, SAND’s price has appreciated by 35%, reaching $0.35 before the recent deposit.

Today’s deposit of such a large amount of SAND to Binance could signal that Hashed is preparing to sell, which might put downward pressure on the price.

This is especially relevant given the increased trading volume observed after the deposit.

Immediately after the deposit, trading activity surged, with volume on the SAND/USDT pair jumping to over 25 million SAND in the subsequent hour.

This was significantly higher than the previous 24-hour average of 15 million SAND.

The heightened activity suggests that traders are reacting swiftly to the news, possibly anticipating a price movement.

From a technical perspective, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 64 after briefly entering the overbought region on the daily chart, suggesting that while SAND has been on an upward trend, it is currently cooling off in anticipation of the next move.

The MACD is also signalling a retracement with a declining histogram and the MACD and signal lines converging.

If the price falls below the support at $0.31, we could witness a retest of the support at around $0.27.

However, if the $0.31 support holds and the resistance at $0.3627 is broken, the token could regain its bullish momentum, propelling it towards $0.41.

However, it’s important to note that the broader cryptocurrency market has been experiencing mixed sentiments, which could influence risk appetite for assets like SAND, although metaverse and gaming tokens, including SAND, have been gaining traction recently, driven by renewed investor interest in virtual reality projects.

Keeping an eye on trading volumes, technical indicators, and broader market sentiments will be crucial for those looking to capitalise on or hedge against potential price swings in the coming days.

The post The Sandbox price prediction amid Hashed’s deposit of 18.45 million SAND tokens to Binance appeared first on CoinJournal.

• The inclusion, effective before trading begins on May 19, will see the crypto major replacing Discover Financial Services in the index.
• Analysts at Bernstein estimate the move could trigger roughly $9 billion in inflows from passive investment vehicles linked to the S&P 500.
• At a market capitalization of approximately $52 billion, Coinbase would represent around 0.1% of the S&P 500

Coinbase is set to become the first pure-play cryptocurrency firm to be included in the S&P 500 index.

The inclusion, effective before trading begins on May 19, follows the pending completion of Discover Financial Services’ acquisition by Capital One.

Wall Street brokerage Bernstein estimates that Coinbase could see approximately $16 billion in buying pressure as a result of its inclusion in the S&P 500.

Of this, around $9 billion is expected to come from passive index funds that track the benchmark, while an additional $7 billion could stem from active fund allocations responding to the index change.

“We estimate $9 billion potential buying into Coinbase driven by passive S&P 500-linked ETFs and non-ETFs,” said Bernstein’s Gautam Chhugani in a note to clients on Tuesday.

For S&P-benchmarked active funds, a 0.1% allocation could translate into another $7 billion in potential buying, he added.

At a market capitalization of approximately $52 billion, Coinbase would represent around 0.1% of the S&P 500 and about 0.7% of the index’s financial sector weighting.

The S&P 500 currently has a total market value of about $52 trillion.

The long road to mainstream

Coinbase’s path to the index follows what Bernstein described as a dramatic turnaround, after the company had previously been involved in litigation with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Coinbase debuted on the Nasdaq via a direct listing in April 2021 and now holds about 66% share of the US crypto exchange market, with more than $400 billion in assets and around 10 million active users.

As the saying goes…

“First they ignore you.
Then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you.
Then they add you to the S&P 500.”

…or something like that.

— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) May 12, 2025

“This is a big deal,” said Coinbase President and COO Emilie Choi.

“The S&P 500 is arguably the most tracked and influential index in the world, is a 401(k) cornerstone, and a magnet for institutional capital.”

CEO Brian Armstrong added, “Crypto is about to be in everyone’s 401k,” and expressed hope that entry into a COIN50 index might eventually carry similar weight.

Market reaction to Coinbase’s inclusion

Coinbase shares rose about 16% in the early hours of trading on Thursday following the announcement and were last seen trading at $241.60.

However, the stock remains down about 5% year-to-date.

The listing comes shortly after Coinbase announced a $2.9 billion deal to acquire Deribit, a crypto derivatives exchange.

The acquisition includes $700 million in cash and 11 million Coinbase Class A shares.

The post S&P 500 inclusion could drive $9B–$16B inflows into Coinbase: Bernstein appeared first on CoinJournal.