eToro, a social investment platform, has agreed to buy New York-based options trading startup Gatsby for $50M in stock and cash. The acquisition has been fully approved by the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra).
The acquisition will enable eToro to diversify its offering to US users, which is currently focused on crypto and stocks.
Founded by Jeff Myers and Ryan Belanger-Saleh, Gatsby is a commission-free option, and stock trading app focused on young traders. Gatsby competes with eToro, Robinhood, and Freetrade in the UK. Post-acquisition, Gatsby’s entire 20-person team will be joining eToro.
Founded by David Ring, Ronen Assia, and Yoni Assia in 2007, eToro is a social trading and investment network that allows users to trade currencies, commodities, indices, crypto assets, and stocks. The company’s mission is to open up the global markets so everyone can trade and invest simply and transparently.
We’ve seen a seismic shift in the balance of power away from traditional finance institutions toward the retail investor. The internet has democratized financial information, and a sea change has taken place, empowering more everyday investors – particularly Gen Z and Millennials – to trade and invest,” says Yoni Assia, eToro CEO and Co-Founder. “These retail investors seek opportunities to generate returns in today’s bear market. Against this backdrop, we are incredibly excited to welcome the Gatsby team to the eToro family. We have a shared mission of empowering investors through simple, transparent investing tools. Scaling our US business is a strategic focus for eToro. Through Gatsby, we can provide US users with access to a safe and simple way to trade options, which we know are particularly attractive in challenging markets.
A couple of months back, eToro made its debut in the world of NFTs with the launch of eToro.art. Last month, the company laid off 100 employees, representing around 6 per cent of the company’s total workforce.
Further, the Israeli firm planned to list on the NASDAQ after a $10.4B merger with FinTech Acquisition Corp. V, a publically-traded SPAC run by American businesswoman Betsy Cohen. However, the plans were terminated as the regulatory conditions to list were not met by June 30.
