Crypto Trading Platform eToro Set To Go Public Via SPAC At $10 Billion Valuation

Just days after it was reported that crypto giant Coinbase had amassed a $90 billion valuation, another major coin wallet is throwing its hat into the ring.

Trading platform eToro, best known for its incessant stream of annoying YouTube ads, is also looking at going public via – what else? – a SPAC. The company is planning to go public by merging with a “blank-check firm led by serial dealmaker Betsy Cohen,” according to Bloomberg.

It’ll sport a $10.4 billion valuation if the deal is consummated. Over the course of the last year, the firm became a FINRA member and is also expected to start providing stock-trading services in the U.S. in the second half of 2021 – putting it at odds with competitor Coinbase and squaring it up against brokerage names like Robinhood. 

eToro currently has 20 million registered users and was founded in 2007. It moved into the U.S. in 2008 and, like competitors, offers zero-commission trading. 

However, unlike some of its competitors, it does not make money by selling its order flow – namely, because the practice is prohibited in Europe. Instead, the firm makes its money by pocketing a spread between the price it pays and the price it gives to its clients. Hey, at least they’re being up front about it…

eToro brands itself as a “social trading” network because it allows users to share their opinions and portfolios with one another. 

Cohen said: “In the last few years, EToro has solidified its position as the leading online social-trading platform outside the U.S., outlined its plans for the U.S. market and diversified its income streams. It is now at an inflection point of growth, and we believe EToro is exceptionally positioned to capitalize on this opportunity.”