Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) will acquire two Indonesian financial firms - Buana Capital Sekuritas and Pedagang Aset Kripto - as the trading app targets one of Asia's hottest cryptocurrency markets.

The company announced the deal yesterday (Sunday), marking its first major move into Southeast Asia. Financial terms weren't disclosed, but the transaction is expected to close sometime in the first half of next year.

Robinhood Acquires Indonesian Brokerage, Crypto Firms in Southeast Asia Push

Indonesia has become one of the world's largest crypto adoption markets, with roughly 17 million cryptocurrency traders and 19 million capital market investors. The country's young, tech-savvy population and favorable regulations have made it attractive for U.S. financial firms looking to grow outside their home markets.

"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.

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In recent months, many retail trading firms have turned their attention to the region. Toward the end of last year, Doo Financial received a license there, followed shortly by XTB. Both companies aimed not only to access a large local market, but also to gain entry to clients in neighboring countries across the region.

Two Acquisitions Speed Market Entry

Buying an existing brokerage helps companies meet local regulatory requirements faster than building operations from scratch. The crypto trader acquisition gives Robinhood immediate access to Indonesia's digital asset infrastructure.

Pieter Tanuri, who owns the majority stake in both Indonesian firms, will stay on as a strategic adviser after the deal closes.

The move comes as Robinhood looks beyond its core U.S. market, where it built a massive following by eliminating trading commissions and simplifying stock investing through a mobile app.

Product Expansion

To achieve this,Robinhood has been expanding its product lineup aggressively this year. The company joined the S&P 500 index in September and launched prediction markets in March. Last month, it acquired MIAXdx to reduce dependence on third-party providers like Kalshi for event-based trading contracts.

The platform has also been pushing tokenization of traditional securities. CEO Vlad Tenev described it as "the biggest innovation in capital markets" in more than ten years, outlining plans to let users use tokenized stocks as collateral for crypto loans.

Robinhood shares have climbed 268% this year through December 5, far outpacing the broader market. The stock went public in New York in 2021.

However, XTB's CEO Omar Arnaout said he expects Robinhood will struggle to replicate its U.S. success in Europe. The Poland-based platform executive called XTB the continent's answer to the American brokerage and questioned whether Robinhood's model would work across fragmented European markets.