Commission-free trading platform Robinhood is expanding its reach with the launch of a cryptocurrency trading platform in the European Union, just a week after it made its international debut with stock trading services in the UK.

One of the largest banks in France, Société Générale, is set to launch its own stablecoin, becoming the first major bank to provide digital tokens that follow the value of fiat currencies.

A U.S. District Judge in Seattle, Richard Jones, has formally accepted the guilty plea of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, on charges of violating the Bank Secrecy Act, but hasn’t decided whether he can leave the United States ahead of his sentencing date.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Robinhood Launches Crypto Trading Platform in EU
• French Banking Giant Société Générale Launches Euro Stablecoin
• Judge Accepts Binance Founder’s Guilty Plea
• Chart of the Week: OKX and Bybit Market Share Soars to All-Time Highs

Robinhood Launches Crypto Trading Platform in EU

Commission-free trading platform Robinhood is expanding its reach with the launch of a cryptocurrency trading platform in the European Union, just a week after it made its international debut with stock trading services in the UK.

Robinhood’s new European cryptocurrency trading app, Robinhood Crypto, will be available from this Thursday and will provide investors access to over 25 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana’s SOL.

The firm, according to Robinhood Crypto’s general manager Johann Kerbrat, is set to launch a loyalty program similar to cashback, where users are rewarded with Bitcoin based on a fraction of their monthly trading volume.

Robinhood has revealed in a recent update that cryptocurrency trading volumes on its platform rose 75% in November compared to the previous month. Despite the launch in the European Union, Kerbrat noted that there are no imminent plans to offer crypto to UK investors over a local lack of regulatory clarity.

Its revenue model for the cryptocurrency brokerage will involve earning rebates from market makers and trading venues that execute trades on its behalf. In the European market, these rebates will amount to approximately 65 basis points per trade, above the roughly 35 basis points it currently earns in the U.S.

French Banking Giant Société Générale Launches Euro Stablecoin

One of the largest banks in France, Société Générale, is set to launch its own stablecoin, becoming the first major bank to provide digital tokens that follow the value of fiat currencies.

The bank has debuted trading of its stablecoin, named EUR CoinVertible, on the Luxembourg-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp, at a time in which stablecoins are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny.

Société Générale has said that EUR CoinVertible is fully backed by euros. The CEO of SocGen Forge, its digital assets unit, has said that they believe there’s a “place for a bank in this field and there is a place for a euro stablecoin.”

The stablecoin sector is currently dominated by U.S. dollar-backed tokens launched by stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle. While some large investment banks like JPMorgan have launched their own stablecoins, these are only available to select institutional clients.

Stenger has said the bank hopes the stablecoin will be used to settle trades in digital bonds and other assets and that it’s compliant with Mica, the EU’s digital assets regulation that kicks in next year.

EUR CoinVertible has been used by Axa Investment Managers to invest in a digital green bond on Ethereum by acquiring and spending 5 million euros of the stablecoin.

Judge Accepts Binance Founder’s Guilty Plea

A U.S. District Judge in Seattle, Richard Jones, has formally accepted the guilty plea of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, on charges of violating the Bank Secrecy Act, but hasn’t decided whether he can leave the United States ahead of his sentencing date.

Judge Jones’ acknowledgment of Zhao’s plea comes shortly after its submission, which came after Binance settled for $4.3 billion with a coalition of U.S. regulators. The settlement also included significant changes and penalties for both Zhao and Binance, with Zhao resigning as CEO and paying a $150 million fine.

CZ is scheduled for sentencing on February 23, 2024, and faces a potential prison term of up to 18 months. He is currently released on a $175 million bond, but U.S. prosecutors have raised concerns about him leaving for his residence in the United Arab Emirates, arguing that securing his return would be challenging.

The United States does not have an extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates, and prosecutors believe that given CZ’s wealth, he could choose to remain in the latter indefinitely.

Chart of the Week: OKX and Bybit Market Share Soars to All-Time Highs

Bybit and OKX have seen their collective market share across both spot and derivatives trading reach a new record high.

In November, Bybit secured 11.94% of the aggregated market, while OKX claimed an even larger slice at 20.2%. Together, they now command a combined market share exceeding 32%.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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