The Israel-based company claims that by launching in the US, it would diversify its present stock, exchange traded fund (ETF), and cryptocurrency-focused offering.
eToro said that more of its key products will soon be accessible to American clients. The company competes in a field that is dominated by both established firms and popular apps.
“To feel in control of their investment decisions, today’s investors want to engage with the market in more ways and under all circumstances. eToro is advancing its goal of democratizing access to the resources that can help people achieve their financial goals by adding options trading, according to Lule Demmissie, the company’s U.S. CEO.
Scaling eToro’s US business comes shortly after the firm secured the regulatory nod to acquire options trading app Gatsby for around $50 million. Co-founded by Jeff Myers and Ryan Belanger-Saleh in 2018, Gatsby is a commission-free options and stock-trading app aimed at younger traders.
Gatsby focuses on a younger demographic to give people “a safe and fair platform to trade on without users having to worry about getting in over their heads or being shut out of names when volatility spikes.”
Gatsby builds upon two open source JavaScript projects for website and web app development. The app launched into iOS and Android in early 2020. Since then, it has seen the number of signups doubling on a yearly basis amid a spike in trade volume with cannabis and meme stocks ranking among its most popular assets.
Despite its extensive trading history, eToro was mindful of the legal challenges that come with growing into popular asset classes. It has already obtained a soft launch for its cryptocurrency services in the US in 2019 and no-fee stock trading in 2020.
Through direct investments in underlying coins, copying other traders’ trades, and thirdly, investing in a diversified portfolio of key crypto assets through its product Crypto Copyfund, eToro’s cryptocurrency offering enables US investors to access the cryptocurrency market.
Following the recent layoffs of 100 employees, half of whom were based in Israel, eToro made headlines. This figure equates to about 6% of the entire workforce of the business. The changes were announced at the same time that eToro withdrew its SPAC agreement with the blank-check firm owned by Betsy Cohen, abandoning its intentions to go public at an eye-catching $10 billion valuation.
