eToro IPO: Stock Announced via SPAC FinTech Acquisition V
The eToro IPO announced today has investors excited. Another cryptocurrency trading platform is going public. But now the questions is: When can investors expect eToro stock? Here’s what we know…
eToro IPO: The Business
EToro is a trading platform. Founded in 2007, its goal is to provide access to the global markets, making trading simple and easy. EToro has a global community of more than 20 million registered users. On the platform, investors can buy, hold and sell assets, as well as monitor their portfolios in real time. To learn more about the platform, you can check out our eToro review.
The company claims its platform is the only place investors can hold both traditional assets (stocks and bonds) alongside newer assets (cryptocurrency). EToro is a big believer in the future of tokenized assets, saying crypto is only the first step. Crypto and blockchain stocks are gaining momentum.
In 2018, eToro created the crypto wallet and on-chain crypto exchange. It plans to use blockchain technology to become the first truly global service platform. But some investors interested in eToro stock might be wondering why eToro doesn’t offer stock trading in the U.S.
U.S. Stocks
Currently, eToro doesn’t offer stock trading in the U.S. In 2018, eToro began bringing its services to the U.S. market. It started with cryptocurrency and social trading. EToro recently received approval for a broker dealer license and plans to launch stock to the U.S. market in the second half of 2021.
Coinbase and Bakkt are two crypto platforms that filed to go public in 2021. Now, the announced eToro IPO will join the crowd. Let’s look at what eToro stock has to offer.
eToro Stock: The Market
The company says that it averaged 192,000 monthly registrations in 2019. In 2020, that grew to an average of 440,000 registrations per month, and eToro added more than five million new users in the year. In January 2021 alone, eToro added more than 1.2 million new users. Now eToro has more than 20 million registered users from more than 100 countries.
Additionally, the platform is seeing more trades executed than ever before. In 2019, it averaged 8 million trades per month. That increased to 27 million per month in 2020. In the first month of 2021, eToro saw more than 75 million trades.
Cryptocurrency is a hot topic. Bitcoin continues to hit new highs and has surpassed $60,000. So it’s not surprising that the eToro IPO is coming now. But the company isn’t going the traditional IPO route.
eToro Going Public by SPAC
EToro stock is coming via a SPAC IPO. A “SPAC” is a special purpose acquisition company. A SPAC has no business operations and goes public in order to raise funds. It then puts those funds into a trust account until it finds a business to acquire. Once a company is acquired or merged, it becomes a publicly traded company. In this case, eToro is the acquiree and FinTech Acquisition Corp. V (Nasdaq: FTCV) is the SPAC.
Betsey Cohen, chair of the board of directors of FinTech V, said…
As a pioneer in the evolution of SPACs, Fintech Masala, our sponsor platform, seeks out companies with outsized growth, effective controls and excellent management teams. EToro meets all three of these criteria. 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.
EToro CEO Yoni Assia added…
We founded eToro with the vision of opening the global market for everyone to trade and invest in a simple and transparent way. Today, eToro is the world’s leading social investment network. Our users come to eToro to invest, but also to communicate with each other; to see, follow, and automatically copy successful investors from all around the world. We created a new category of wealth management – social investing – and we are dominating the market as evidenced by our rapid expansion. Today marks a momentous milestone for eToro as we embark on our journey to become a publicly traded company with Betsy Cohen and the team at FinTech V. I want to express my gratitude for the passion, hard work, drive and determination of all of the eToro team members over the past 14 years who have helped make this a reality.
For those interested in eToro stock…
eToro IPO Details
EToro announced the acquisition on March 16, 2021. The deal gives the company an equity value of $10.4 billion and an enterprise value of $9.6 billion. The transaction includes $250 million from FinTech V’s trust. Another $650 million will come from a private investment in public equity (PIPE). It prices shares at $10 and comes from ION Investment Group, Softbank Vision Fund 2 and Fidelity Management & Research Company, just to name a few.
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The eToro IPO date is set for the third quarter of 2021, pending stockholder approval and market conditions. EToro stock will trade on the Nasdaq, but it hasn’t yet announced a ticker symbol.
About Amber Deter
Amber Deter has researched and written about initial public offerings (IPOs) over the last few years. After starting her college career studying accounting and business, Amber decided to focus on her love of writing. Now she’s able to bring that experience to Investment U readers by providing in-depth research on IPO and investing opportunities.