When you submit a crypto order through our platform, we handle the back-end routing to ensure your trade is executed efficiently. Unlike traditional equities, crypto markets operate globally and continuously. To provide you with reliable execution, Bitstamp UK relies on an interconnected network of internal and group-owned infrastructure.

Bitstamp UK does not directly execute or arrange crypto trades. Instead, you submit your order to Bitstamp UK Ltd (BSUK), an FCA-registered entity owned by Robinhood, and BSUK executes it on the trading platform operated by Bitstamp Europe S.A. (BESA).

Because crypto markets can move rapidly, all orders routed through the system are subjected to automatic marketability and volatility checks before they are sent to the exchange order book.

Collared limit orders

To shield you from sudden price gaps or execution slippage, Bitstamp UK exclusively routes and executes market orders as collared limit orders. This applies an automatic defensive buffer to your execution price:

• Buy orders: Routed with a +1% protective collar calculated above the current global ask price.
• Sell orders: Routed with a +5% protective collar calculated below the current global bid price.

Precision & rejection checks

Every asset listed on the platform carries strict, exchange-defined minimum sizes and decimal increments. If an order is entered with a quantity or price precision that exceeds what our execution venues can support, our automated order checks will block the transaction before it is routed, protecting your cash balance from unexpected execution rejections.

Even though your orders are routed to international exchange ledgers, the underlying financial settlement remains fully integrated within your app experience.

• Shared funds: Cash settlement flows directly through your primary Robinhood individual brokerage cash balance.
• Asset segregation: Crypto acquired through this flow represents client assets. Your digital holdings are kept separate from firm operational balances and are held securely within dedicated digital asset custody managed on behalf of Bitstamp UK.

Crypto markets operate 24/7, but technical networks occasionally undergo operational downtimes.

If our routing pipelines or exchange books experience scheduled technical maintenance or an unexpected network halt, the system will instantly implement an internal lock. During these brief periods, the Buy and Sell buttons in your app will be unavailable, and any order submitted precisely as a routing line goes offline will be rejected internally to ensure your funds are never exposed to transmission errors.