Google Divests from Crypto-Friendly Brokerage Robinhood

Google parent company Alphabet no longer has a stake in top trading app operator Robinhood Markets Inc following a recent decision by the former to dissolve its entire stake in the financial service platform. 

Alphabet Secures Shares in Robinhood

Alphabet’s relationship with Robinhood began when the firm was just an unlisted startup. This was the same time the trading platform was enticing investors with its commission-free trades and easy-to-use interface. Before the end of 2021, the tech firm had amassed up to 4.9 million Robinhood shares. 

By August 2021 when Robinhood hit a breakthrough with the shares reaching as high as $85, the Alphabet holding was valued at approximately $419 million.

Alphabet’s decision to sell all of its Robinhood shares was detailed in a filing with the United States SEC. Noteworthy, the tech giant has been pulling away from Robinhood gradually for some time now. A few months ago, the Google parent firm slashed its stake in the crypto-friendly company by almost 90% and this left it with only 612,214 shares in Robinhood. Based on a calculation by Reuters, these remaining shares were worth around $7 million until November 13 when they no longer exist. 

Robinhood Struggles to Stay Afloat

Robinhood has been on the brink of a breakdown since last year, owing to the numerous interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. 

Customers began to lose interest in the trading app and this led to a drastic drop in its customer base. Similarly, the collapse of FTX also impacted negatively on the operations of Robinhood just like every other firm that was in close association with the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange.

At that time, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) contemplating a complete takeover of, a deal that did not pull through due to the challenges that faced FTX last year. In a bid to absolve its brand from the FTX scandal, Robinhood’s board of directors  approved a plan to buy back the former FTX CEO’s 55 million shares, worth a 7.6% stake.

Amongst the woes it has faced over time was unveiled at the beginning of this year, when the firm said that in December 2022 it received a subpoena over an investigation from the U.S. SEC over its crypto operations like token listing, crypto custody, and others.