eToro’s CEO says the company buys Bitcoin at $5, turning a $50 million profit, showcasing early crypto adoption and investment strategy
One of the earliest known institutional crypto wagers was disclosed by eToro CEO Yoni Assia, who disclosed that the company acquired Bitcoin at $5 and subsequently sold it for a $50 million profit.
In the wake of eToro’s Nasdaq début, Assia disclosed to CNBC that the trading platform incorporated Bitcoin into its treasury in the early 2010s, before the rise of cryptocurrency in the mainstream.
Assia said:
“We were very early to crypto,” “I started buying Bitcoin at $5 for eToro’s treasury… $5 became $50,000 and eventually $50 million before my board told me I had to sell it. It’s not our business.”
Although eToro has since shifted its focus to traditional markets, with 75% of its revenue now associated with equities, Assia confirmed that the platform continues to support more than 130 crypto assets, indicative of the platform’s ongoing interest in the sector.
EToro initiated this approach to Bitcoin before the emergence of significant financial institutions. Assia also observed that Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, previously operated out of eToro’s offices before establishing the Ethereum network.
Even though eToro has transitioned to a more stock-focused revenue model, which was partially motivated by a dinner with Warren Buffett, crypto continues to constitute a quarter of the company’s revenue.
Assia said:
“Nobody doubts that crypto is here to stay,”
eToro’s initial public offering
According to Assia, eToro’s public début on Nasdaq is the culmination of an 18-year journey and a transition to profitable development.
The company had previously abandoned a SPAC merger in 2021 and opted to wait for sustained profitability before going public.
The company has now become part of an expanding list of trading platforms that have evolved into broader financial service providers despite Bitcoin’s continuing influence on their origin stories. These platforms have profound crypto roots.
