The Robinhood no-fee trading platform has announced its expansion to Alaska and Oklahoma, which means it now services US residents across 20 states.

Most US states have their own specific licencing requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges, which is why Robinhood and its rivals are gradually expanding in the country. The venture will continue to pursue licences in each of the states where it still has no presence.

Trusted by millions

The crypto exchange claims to be “trusted by millions of people in the USA”. It adds that it’s “serious about security and use cutting-edge technology to ensure your personal information is fully encrypted and securely stored”.

Robinhood Financial is a member of Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), “which means securities in your account are protected up to $500,000”.

An IPO after an SEC audit

Robinhood is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO), for which it is currently seeking a new Chief Financial Officer.

Its CEO, Baiju Bhatt, says that it is waiting on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to conclude their audits of the crypto firm to ensure its regulatory compliance.

After raising $363 million in a Series D funding round and $110 in a Series C, Robinhood’s valuation stands at $5.6 billion. This makes it the second most valuable startup in the United States. It claims to have five million registered users, most of whom are Millennials.

In a statement on its website, it says, “we believe that the financial system should work for the rest of us, not just the wealthy. We’ve cut the fat that makes other brokerages costly, like manual account management and hundreds of storefront locations so that we can offer zero commission trading.”