Robinhood files SEC paperwork for public offering

Robinhood Markets Inc., a popular trading app that recently expanded its cryptocurrency business, has filed paperwork with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, to go public.

The company confirmed Tuesday that it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC relating to the proposed public offering of its common stock. Form S-1 requires companies to provide more detailed information on the planned use of capital proceeds., as well as a brief prospectus on the proposed security.

While Robinhood didn’t specify when the IPO would take place, it confirmed that a public offering would be pursued “after the SEC contemplates its review process, subject to market and other conditions.”

Speculation about a Robinhood IPO has circulated for months amid news that the company had lined up a team of advisers to guide it through the listing process. In October 2020, CEO and co-founder Vlad Tenev told CNBC that he was “not in a rush” to push a public listing because the company was well funded.

Public opinion of Robinhood soured earlier this year – and may have stalled the IPO process – after the company decided to halt trading of GameStop. An anonymous survey conducted in January via the Blind networking forum found that, among 8,750 verified finance professionals, 83% believed Robinhood had “screwed its IPO.”

Robinhood added 6 million new cryptocurrency users in January and February 2021, which was 15 times higher than the average figure in all of 2020. The company has announced plans to expand its crypto services to allow for deposits and withdrawals for crypto assets.