U.S. brokerage Robinhood Markets set to acquire crypto company WonderFi for $250-million

Popular commission-free U.S. brokerage Robinhood Markets Inc. HOOD-Q is entering the Canadian market with a $250-million deal to acquire cryptocurrency company WonderFi Technologies Inc. WNDR-T.

The deal, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, values WonderFi at 36 cents per share, representing a 41-per-cent premium over its closing price on Monday.

WonderFi closed at 34.5 cents per share, up nine cents or 35 per cent, on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

The acquisition is the latest example of consolidation in a sector that has surged in recent months thanks to support from U.S. President Donald Trump, who branded himself as the pro-crypto candidate during the 2024 election campaign.

Since his return to office, U.S. regulators have pulled back on cryptocurrency-related enforcement. Mr. Trump, meanwhile, has rewarded the top 220 buyers of his digital token, $TRUMP, with an exclusive dinner set to take place later this month.

“Through the election and into the inauguration, we saw a massive increase in excitement across the industry, which led to rapid signups and greater adoption than typically seen,” Dean Skurka, WonderFi’s president and chief executive officer, said in an interview Tuesday.

He added: “With the likelihood of favourable regulation in the U.S. with the current administration, we expect the industry to become more mainstream, which will just fuel adoption rates in Canada and abroad.”

WonderFi’s executive chair, Bobby Halpern, first acquired cryptocurrency trading platform Bitbuy in early 2018 for $330,000. The company had 500 customers and operated out of a small Toronto office.

WonderFi, which was backed by Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, acquired Bitbuy’s parent in 2022 for $206-million in cash and stock.

The following year, the company struck a three-way merger deal with CoinSmart Financial Inc. and Coinsquare Ltd., as the platforms sought scale to compete against global cryptocurrency exchanges.

“WonderFi has consolidated the Canadian registered crypto trading platforms over the last three years, and through that, we’ve seen the value that scale creates within the Canadian market,” Mr. Skurka said.

The deal with Robinhood “will continue to allow us to grow at a meaningful rate in the Canadian market.”

In recent years, WonderFi has traded at below 40 cents per share and has struggled to turn a profit. In 2023, it reported a $17.5-million loss for the full 12 months, narrowing to a $1.2-million loss in 2024.

Initial discussions between WonderFi and California-based Robinhood began late last year.

Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s senior vice-president and general manager of crypto, said the fintech was looking to enter Canada, where it already has an engineering team but no operations.

WonderFi was appealing to Robinhood because it’s regulated, owns two recognized brands – Coinsquare and Bitbuy – and has more than $2.1-billion in client assets, Mr. Kerbrat said.

“We think WonderFi was kind of the ideal partner for us to accelerate our mission to enter Canada,” he said.

Mr. Halpern said he expects the deal to close in the second half of 2025.