eToro's Yoni Assia Reveals $5 Bitcoin Buy Turned into a $50M Sale—an Early Exit That Still Stings

eToro's long-awaited Nasdaq debut follows a 2024 net profit of $192M, with crypto now powering 25% of trades. Armed with 130+ digital assets, eToro targets Gen Z's looming $140T wealth shift

eToro, the social investing platform, is heading for a Nasdaq listing, finally setting foot on the U.S. bourse after shelving a 2021 SPAC plan.

The firm, known for its early Bitcoin foray and handling 130+ crypto assets, clocked $192 million in net profit for 2024.

Startup Focus:eToro’s long-awaited Nasdaq debut comes as it finally realized profit for 2024, announcing $192 million in net income. This follows years of losses as the social investing platform navigated a volatile market landscape.eToro’s foray into crypto began early, well before the 2024 figures. Back in the 2010s, as Bitcoin was still largely uncharted territory, eToro's internal treasury had the chance to invest in BTC. Despite the board members advising against it, considering it fell outside eToro’s main focus area, they eventually decided to make a small investment.

As eToro’s CEO, Yoni Assia, recently revealed in a CNBC interview, they bought BTC for $5 and later sold it for $50 million, an exit that still stings.

“We were very early. We had the opportunity to invest in Bitcoin when it was around $5, and they pulled us out of it because they said, ‘Bitcoin is not our business area and we should not be investing in it'” Assia said.

eToro's board members, in their wisdom, decided to sell the crypto holding when it reached $50 million.

“At the time, it was a huge profit for the company, but looking back now, at least I could have fired them for making that decision,” Assia added.

eToro’s varsity now trades more than 130 digital assets globally, a domain that began 12 years ago.

Crypto drives 25% of eToro’s trade volume, rising from last year’s 10% and now contributes a quarter of the firm’s overall revenue. The remaining 75% is generated by stock trading.

eToro’s crypto journey began even earlier with Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin once working from their offices before launching his blockchain endeavors.

eToro’s move to U.S. varsity follows a period of rapid growth for the firm. In 2023, eToro reached over 30 million registered users, almost double the 17 million reported at the end of 2022.

eToro’s user base has been steadily growing. Back in 2021, when eToro was planning a SPAC listing, they reported having 11 million users and $900 million in revenue for 2020.