EToro, a stock and cryptocurrency trading platform aimed at retail investors, is looking to sell shares to the public on the New York Stock Exchange, the Financial Times reported, citing a confidential filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The sale, which could occur as early as the second quarter, could value the company at more than $5 billion, the Financial Times said. Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and UBS are advising the company.
If successful, eToro would join Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD) as one of the few publicly traded companies offering cryptocurrency trading in the US. It would be much smaller than either: Coinbase has a market cap of $69 billion and Robinhood $40 billion.
The valuation would also be less than half the level it was seeking in 2021, when it planned to go public through a $10.4 billion deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The attempt was abandoned in late 2022 as a result of unfavorable market conditions.
In 2023, eToro raised $250 million in funding at a valuation of $3.5 billion from investors including SoftBank as its valuation plummeted, according to the Financial Times. The valuation has since risen amid a stock and cryptocurrency market rally, and after the company agreed to pay $1.5 million to resolve SEC charges, it operated as an unregistered broker and unregistered clearing agency. and facilitated the trading of some crypto assets as securities.
While eToro’s cryptocurrency trading volume is unknown, Finance Magnates reported last year that it increased more than 500% in the year ending in November.
The company, founded in Israel in 2007, manages $11.3 billion for more than 3 million clients. These assets include not only cryptocurrencies, but also stocks and exchange-traded funds.
Last year, as a result of its settlement with the SEC, it agreed to abandon trading of multiple cryptocurrencies in the United States, limiting its users in the country to trading bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH) and ether (ETH). . .
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
