Crypto and Stock Trading Startup Robinhood Is Eyeing an IPO

Mobile investment app Robinhood, which launched a zero-commission cryptocurrency trading service early this year, is now searching for a chief financial officer as it prepares for an initial public offering.

Speaking at a TechCrunch event on Thursday, Robinhood CEO Baiju Bhatt revealed that the firm is "Actively looking for a CFO right now" as he confirmed going public is "Definitely" in the company's plan in the medium- to long-term.

"Being a public company I think aligns very closely with our mission as well. And it's definitely on the horizon, not in the immediate term, but that's something we are thinking about."

Further, Bhatt said as a financial service company, its security measures and financial performances are being audited by financial regulators in the U.S. such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

The news follows Robinhood's announcement in May that it raised $363 million in a Series D round funding led by DST Global and Sequoia Capital, which valued the firm at $5.6 billion.

Bhatt said at the time that with the new capital, the firm aimed to "Become either the largest or one of the largest crypto platforms out there" by end of 2018.

As CoinDesk previously reported, the zero-fee stock trading startup launched Robinhood Crypto in February aimed to allow users in the U.S. to buy and sell cryptocurrencies at lower costs.

Currently, it offers trading options for bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, ethereum classic, litecoin, and dogecoin in 17 states in the U.S. and claims to have over 5 million users on the platform.

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