Robinhood enters the Indonesian market through acquisitions
Robinhood Markets (HOOD) said on Sunday that it is entering the Indonesian market through the acquisitions of PT Buana Capital Sekuritas, a brokerage firm, and PT Pedagang Aset Kripto, a digital asset trading company.
Robinhood sees Indonesia as a compelling new market to enter, given its estimated 19 million capital market investors, as well as 17 million cryptocurrency investors.
“Indonesia represents a fast-growing market for trading, making it an exciting place to further Robinhood’s mission to democratize finance for all,” Patrick Chan, head of Asia at Robinhood, said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing Indonesians the same innovative services that have earned the trust of Robinhood customers globally.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending approval of each acquisition by Indonesia's Financial Services Authority.
Robinhood's stock rose 3.4% on news of the deal. It has soared 266.2% for the year.
The company said that Pieter Tanuri, the majority owner of Buana Capital and PT Pedagang Aset Kripto, will stay on as a strategic advisor.
Robinhood noted that it will continue to service Buana Capital's clients with Indonesian financial products following the acquisition, but aims to eventually start offering them Robinhood brokerage and crypto products, and introduce US equities and cryptocurrencies to the Indonesian investors.
Steve Quirk, chief brokerage officer for Robinhood, said in a post on X that the company plans to work with Buana Capital and PT Pedagang Aset Kripto to "democratize finance for this fast-growing market."
Gen Z is driving Indonesian investor base growth
Indonesia represents Robinhood's latest move into Southeast Asia. The company announced plans earlier this year to open a headquarters in Singapore, which has been aggressively pushing to establish itself as a crypto hub in both Asia and across the globe.
What makes Indonesia an attractive market for financial services firms like Robinhood is it not only has a rapidly growing investing base, but it's one that is being led by digital-native Gen-Z investors. According to local reports, 54.2% of the investing market in the country is under 30 years old.
And Southeast Asia has broadly been embracing crypto, making it an obvious strategic market for Robinhood, which has been ramping up its crypto offerings this year.
Robinhood said on Monday that it has $51 billion in crypto assets under custody as of the end of the third quarter. Its crypto notional trading volume was $232 billion over the last 12 months ending Oct. 31.
The company also announced on Monday that it is launching its own Layer 2 blockchain based on Arbitrum called the Robinhood Chain. Its new blockchain is meant to power tokenized real world and digital assets.
Along with stablecoins, tokenization has been the most hyped segment of the crypto industry this year, with Wall Street seeing it as being especially important for institutional and professional trading clients.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) said last month that it had completed its first transaction on its in-house blockchain — a tokenized private equity fund — that is available to wealthy clients served by its private bank.
Johann Kerbrat, vice president and general manager of Robinhood Crypto, told CNBC in February that its expansion into Singapore would be initially focused on institutional investors in Asia.