The CEO of crypto exchange FTXSam Bankman-Fried made a huge investment this week. He made that investment in the Robinhood trading platform, which is known in the United States. Bankman-Friend calls it “an attractive investment.”
FTX CEO now owns 7.6% of Robinhood shares
Out documentation It turns out that the CEO of the now well-known FTX exchange has invested no less than $648 million in Robinhood. That is good for a share of 7.6%.
The news that the 30-year-old billionaire has invested heavily immediately caused a significant rise in the Robinhood stock price. That jump during the after hours trading up by about 42%! Why the FTX CEO decided to invest so much money in Robinhood is unclear.
The document showing that Bankman-Fried has taken the step is a 13D form. According to the Wall Street Journal, these are used by investors who really want to take an active role within the company after such an investment. Consider, for example, a role in the board. But the FTX CEO says he doesn’t intend to, but doesn’t rule it out in the future either.
Another step to expand FTX?
Of course, a large investment of $648 million is not made lightly. The question is therefore whether it is a new step for FTX to expand its reach. For example, a takeover of Robinhood could be possible in the future. This would be difficult to accomplish, though.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the founders of Robinhood hold 60% of the voting power. WSJ also reports based on sources that the founders want to keep the company independent. At the time of writing, the company’s shares were down as much as 80% compared to the IPO in July 2021.
FTX is an exchange that is working very hard and has grown considerably in recent months. It did this, among other things, through a large-scale marketing campaign in which it, for example, entered into a partnership with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team, but also by taking steps towards American politics.