eToro CEO Yoni Assia says he is “exploring the right timing” for a London or NY IPO, as the Tel Aviv-based multi-asset trading platform seeks a $3.5B+ valuation
Chief executive says firm also looking at London listing, but adds US could connect it to more potential investors
Context & Ripple Effects
eToro’s $3.5B-plus ambition marked an early public-market decision point: management was weighing whether London or New York would provide the better investor base for a Tel Aviv-based trading platform. The company had previously raised $100M at an reported $800M valuation for expansion and blockchain R&D in its 2018 funding round.
The subsequent coverage shows the choice consolidating around the US: eToro later confidentially filed for a US IPO and then disclosed a planned Nasdaq listing under ETOR, alongside 2024 results heavily tied to cryptoassets in its formal IPO filing.
First-order effects
- eToro begins positioning itself for an IPO while retaining flexibility between London and New York; a US venue is explicitly attractive for access to a broader pool of potential investors.
- Prospective investors and employees gain a clearer, though still tentative, path to liquidity anchored to a $3.5B-plus valuation target.
Second-order effects
- The London-versus-New York comparison puts pressure on each market’s ability to attract internationally headquartered, consumer-facing trading platforms; eToro’s later US filing indicates where that calculus ultimately leaned.
- Because the platform’s later disclosed revenue mix was overwhelmingly cryptoasset-related, IPO demand and valuation will be especially exposed to investors’ appetite for crypto-linked trading businesses rather than diversified brokerage economics.
Third-order effects
- If comparable platforms continue to select US listings, New York can further concentrate the public-market investor base for global fintechs, while London faces a harder task converting international issuer interest into completed listings.
- The case also illustrates how listing windows for retail-trading platforms may be governed by both broad equity-market conditions and crypto-market sensitivity; eToro itself later paused IPO plans amid volatility before revisiting them as market conditions improved.
The trend: Global retail-trading platforms are increasingly treating a US listing as the route to the deepest specialist investor pool, even when their operating roots are elsewhere.