Startup FinTech Robin Hood goes ahead with a planned initial public offering (IPO) and will pursue a direct listing or seek a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), Bloomberg reported Wednesday (February 3) citing sources.

“The [Robinhood] The IPO is full steam ahead, ”said one of the bankers. Goldman Sachs advises on the offer, according to Barron.

The IPO will give Robinhood a further injection of capital and allow easier access to future funding, sources said, according to Barron’s.

Robinhood has just raised $ 2.4 billion in a funding round led by Ribbit Capital, after raising $ 1 billion from current investors last week, following a trading frenzy that prompted the FinTech start-up to stop trading on GameStop and other actions. This decision sparked an uproar from its customers and Wall Street.

The company said the deposit requirements mandated by the clearinghouse had reached 10 times the normal number and that Robinhood “had to take steps to limit the purchase of these volatile securities to ensure that we can comfortably meet our expectations. requirements “.

The debacle hasn’t affected Robinhood’s appeal – its app has been downloaded over a million times in the past week alone.

“If they are more and more numerous and have a plan to fight against PFOF [payment for order flows] problems with Citadel, I think they can still be made public with some enemies of Twitter, ”a hedge fund executive told Barron’s. He predicts that Robinhood’s IPO will be a winner.

Founded in 2013 by Baiju Bhatt and Vlad tenev, Robinhood offers free digital trading in stocks, ETFs, options and cryptocurrencies.

Robinhood GameStop the fiasco sparked separate lawsuits filed by two states criticizing the company’s decision to shut down. GameStop’s frenzy was amplified by Reddit users who allegedly tried to disrupt the markets.

Robinhood was not the only one to suspend trade. Several others have also pulled trades in shares of GameStop, AMC and others, a move that has sparked a digital uproar on social media and trading forums.