Robinhood Widens Shiba Inu Reach to US Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Puerto Rico

• Robinhood has extended its cryptocurrency trading services to Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, allowing residents to trade Shiba Inu.

• Shiba Inu’s price rose slightly after Robinhood’s expansion announcement.

Robinhood, a leading financial services platform, has extended its cryptocurrency trading services to Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, allowing residents to trade Shiba Inu (SHIB) among other digital assets. This expansion aims to enhance the visibility and mainstream adoption of SHIB in these regions. 

Crypto trading on Robinhood is now available in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands pic.twitter.com/rpO4WDoLK3

— Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) July 2, 2024

Robinhood revealed the expansion in a recent post on X. Additionally, this makes it possible for the crypto enthusiasts in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U. S Virgin Islands to be able to buy and sell a number of digital assets supported by Robinhood including Shiba Inu. The addition of these territories to the Robinhood trading network comes at the heels of the company’s attempts to expand its services all throughout the United States. 

Over the last one year, Robinhood has been gradually integrating its cryptocurrency services to different regions. The company allowed the trading of cryptocurrencies in Nevada in October and previously allowed its users to trade 15 different cryptocurrencies, including Shiba Inu.

In April, Robinhood introduced Shiba Inu along with Compound (COMP) and Avalanche (AVAX) to its New York residents. These tactical steps show Robinhood’s intention to expand the opportunity of cryptocurrency trading across the country. 

Shiba Inu Gains Traction as Popular Asset on Robinhood

The inclusion of Shiba Inu on Robinhood’s platform for these regions is expected to greatly enhance the token’s exposure. Shiba Inu, which debuted on the Robinhood platform in April 2022, has quickly become among the most traded assets on the platform, owing to the enthusiastic community and the general public. This has created an opportunity for the company to make huge purchases of SHIB. For example, in May, a large SHIB holder, often called a ‘whale,’ transferred 1. 75 trillion SHIB from Robinhood to an untagged wallet, indicating its high trading activity. 

Currently, Robinhood holds a significant amount of Shiba Inu in its wallets. Robinhood has one of the largest SHIB wallets that currently holds 33. 95 trillion SHIB tokens worth around $588 million. Additionally, two other wallets associated with Robinhood own 5.68 trillion and 4.8 trillion SHIB, respectively, ranking them among the top 20 largest holders of the token. These holdings underline the platform’s significant role in the Shiba Inu market.

Following Robinhood’s announcement of the expansion, Shiba Inu’s price saw a slight increase. SHIB has appreciated by 0.07% in the last 24 hours and was trading at $0. 00001682. The positive price movement can be attributed to Robinhood’s continued support for the currency as well as the increased ease of trading Shiba Inu. 

Robinhood Acquires Bitstamp to Boost Institutional Presence

Robinhood Crypto’s recent developments align with its broader strategic goals. The company is not only focused on consolidating its presence across the U.S. but also plans to expand internationally.

“As we prepare to enter the EU market, completing our U.S. expansion was a logical step,” Johann Kerbrat, the Vice President of Robinhood Crypto, stated.

Besides this, Robinhood has its eyes set on other goals than just geographical ones. Recently, the company revealed that it had bought Bitstamp, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, for $200 million. This deal is expected to be finalized in the first half of the year 2025, subject to regulatory approval. Kerbrat stated that the deal is a “strategic combination” which is aimed at increasing the market presence of Robinhood and attracting institutional clients.