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Fintech unicorn Robinhood, which offers zero-fee stock, option, and crypto trading, has begun preparations to go public, Baiju Bhatt, the company’s chief executive, revealed at TechCrunch Disrupt SF last week. The US-based firm has raised $539 million in funding, and it's currently valued at $5.6 billion.

In preparation for the initial public offering (IPO), the five-year-old company is in the process of hiring a chief financial officer (CFO), as well as undertaking audits from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FINRA, a US securities markets watchdog.

In addition to Robinhood Gold, a premium margin trading service for which it charges between $10 to $200 per month, the company makes money by collecting interest on capital its users store in their Robinhood accounts, as well as selling order flow to stock exchanges looking to secure more liquidity for their traders.

Robinhood's customer numbers are impressive, but it faces some stiff competition. Robinhood doubled its user base to over 4 million in the last year, which was likely aided by its addition of flashy services like crypto trading. And it's decision to pursue an IPO is a testament to how successful the company's strategy of addressing the masses with affordable trading options has been.

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However, it faces growing competition from both startups and incumbents — JPMorgan has begun offering its customers 100 free trades through its new You Invest service, while UK-based neobank Revolut already offers crypto trading and is in the process of adding a commission-free stock trading service on its platform. This intensifying competition could make fulfilling investor expectations harder as the company prepares to take itself public.

A successful IPO for Robinhood could encourage other fintechs to follow suit.IPOs from fintechs in the US have been pretty rare recently, likely to do with the shares of LendingClub and OnDeck struggling since their debuts in 2014.

However, if Robinhood can successfully enter the public market, and prove that it can stand up to investor scrutiny, it may encourage some of its peers to follow suit.

The listing will also serve as a litmus test for whether investors broadly believe fintechs can mature into profitable companies worth backing. Therefore, the success or failure of Robinhood’s IPO could have a major influence on how soon other fintechs explore going public.