US-based stock trading platform Robinhood Markets has officially acquired Toronto-based cryptocurrency company WonderFi.
The news: Robinhood’s acquisition of WonderFi closed on Monday, more than a year after the two companies signed the $250-million deal. This marks Robinhood’s official entry into the Canadian market, as well as the exit of WonderFi president and CEO Dean Skurka.
From the source: “This is a natural time for me to move on to pursue new opportunities, and I leave knowing that the next chapter of the journey is in very capable hands,” Skurka wrote in a LinkedIn post. He noted that being acquired by Robinhood is the best possible outcome and the “strongest possible validation” of WonderFi.
Following the thread: When the deal was first reported, WonderFi’s leadership and entire 115-person team were set to join Robinhood Crypto’s Canadian workforce.
Skurka had replaced WonderFi co-founder Ben Samaroo as interim CEO back in 2022 and oversaw the consolidation of some of the company’s many crypto trading platforms. In late 2024, Skurka was kidnapped and held for ransom in downtown Toronto; he was safely released after the company reportedly paid out the kidnappers.
WonderFi’s platforms, like Bitbuy and Coinsquare, are now part of the Robinhood brand, and Canadians will be able to download Robinhood’s app. Robinhood said that WonderFi is “a trusted partner to many institutions in Canada,” and will continue to support those relationships.
On Monday, Robinhood maintained that WonderFi’s employees will join its more than 240 employees based in Canada.
Final thought: Robinhood got a 300,000-customer shortcut into the Canadian crypto market by acquiring WonderFi. The company said its trading fee is 0.5 percent on Canadian-dollar crypto trades, undercutting Wealthsimple’s two percent fee on trades under $1,000. Another potential competitor, Questrade, has plans to eventually move into the crypto space.
While Robinhood is only competing in crypto so far, Robinhood Crypto SVP Johann Kerbrat told BetaKit last year that it planned to use the acquisition “as a foundation to slowly expand” its product in Canada.
Disclosure: Wealthsimple vice-president of payments strategy and chief compliance officer, Hanna Zaidi, sits on BetaKit’s board of directors.
Feature image courtesy WonderFi.