Israeli-founded eToro debuts on Nasdaq at $4.3 billion valuation in long-awaited IPO

Israeli-founded stocks and cryptocurrency trading platform eToro seeks to raise about $620 million in its debut on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, giving the firm a valuation of about $4.3 billion.

It is touted as the largest Israeli initial public offering (IPO) on Wall Street since Jerusalem-headquartered maker of autonomous driving tech firm Mobileye went public on the Nasdaq in 2022, and is slated to be one of the largest new listings this year.

The public debut comes as the IPO market is expected to see a much-anticipated revival in 2025, with a pipeline of high-growth companies, including Israeli tech companies, aiming to go public after years of sluggish activity.

The company said Wednesday it is offering about 11.91 million shares at its IPO, at an upsized price of $52 per share, up from earlier plans to sell about 10 million shares. That’s after the underwriters of the offering raised the IPO price range from $46 to $50, previously. The stock will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ETOR.”

EToro was founded in 2007 by Israeli brothers Yonatan and Ronen Assia as well as David Ring, originally pledging to “democratize” financial trading by making it more “game-like.” It operates a trading platform that allows users to invest in stocks, cryptocurrencies and other assets while mirroring the strategies of top investors. In March 2023, eToro raised $250 million in a funding round that valued the online brokerage at $3.5 billion.

“As technology continues to evolve, so does our ability to create more inclusive financial systems,” said Assia. “Artificial intelligence, in particular, holds immense potential to revolutionize investing.”

“At eToro, we’re already using AI to provide users with personalized insights, identify trends and optimize their strategies,” he added.

The fintech firm has been eyeing an initial public listing for the last couple of years. Back in 2022, eToro nixed plans to go public after a deal to merge with Betsy Cohen-backed FinTech Acquisition through a special purpose acquisition company fell through.

Over the past two years, the global IPO market has been largely closed as an avenue to raise capital due to a high-interest rate environment, a global economic slowdown and sharp declines in technology stock values. Many Israeli and global tech companies that had been sitting on the fence have in recent months started to consider listing on US or other stock exchanges amid expectations that the window for IPOs will have a renaissance this year.

EToro has been benefiting from robust growth since the coronavirus pandemic, as the lockdowns spurred remote work and a global transition to online work and commerce, and as global interest rates took a downward trend.

The online trading platform’s total commission jumped to $931 million in the year ended December 31, compared with $639 million a year earlier. Profit was $192.4 million versus $15.3 million in the year-ago period. As of the end of 2024, the platform had 3.5 million user accounts registered across a global footprint of 75 countries.

Ahead of the planned IPO, eToro in September agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle charges that it violated American securities laws in its cryptocurrency business operations. As part of the settlement, the online brokerage announced that the only cryptocurrency assets US customers will be able to trade on its platform will be Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ether.

A July 2021 Times of Israel investigation cited critics of the fintech company who claimed that a significant share of eToro’s revenue comes from leveraged CFDs (contract for differences), a complex financial product ill-suited for unsophisticated investors, most of whom lose money.

Reuters contributed to this report.