eToro Acquires TradeZero for $231 Million, Shares Drop 10%
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eToro Acquires TradeZero for $231 Million, Shares Drop 10%

August 11, 20264 min read

Trading platform eToro agreed to buy US brokerage TradeZero in a deal worth up to $231 million. The company announced the move on Tuesday, August 11, alongside its second-quarter results, which showed crypto revenue down about 30% year over year.

A $231 Million Deal

TradeZero was founded in 2015. The company runs commission-free stock and options trading in the US and also operates in Canada and several international markets through its own broker-dealer subsidiaries. According to the eToro Group Ltd. release, payment consists of cash and up to 2.5 million newly issued eToro Class A shares, subject to customary adjustments.

Over the twelve months ending June 30, 2026, TradeZero generated about $80 million in revenue with an 81% gross margin. eToro expects the deal to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approval.

The market read the move as an attempt by eToro to gain ground among traditional US brokers, where competition for retail investors stays fierce. The company has repeatedly said it wants to become a multi-asset platform where users hold stocks, commodities and crypto in one app.

"Today's announcement is an important step in building our US business. This combination gives us a faster path to launching new products for US customers and strengthens our offering. Together, we'll grow faster as we continue building the global financial superapp for the next generation of users."

Yoni Assia, Co-Founder and CEO of eToro, from the company's official statement, August 11, 2026

TradeZero Expands eToro's US Footprint

The purchase gives eToro new broker-dealer infrastructure, next-generation trading platforms, an engaged community of active traders and access to the Canadian market. TradeZero operates across the US, Canada and several international venues, so eToro's coverage grows substantially.

Owning a broker-dealer license lets eToro launch new US products faster, without waiting on approval from outside partners. The company previously relied on third-party infrastructure providers for part of its US operations.

eToro built its brand on retail crypto trading and copying other investors' trades, but the US equities market has always been a harder wedge for the company. TradeZero brings licensed infrastructure and an active-trader base that competes directly with Robinhood.

eToro Chief Financial Officer Meron Shani said more than 60% of users who traded commodities between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 went on to trade equities in the second quarter. Nearly 90% of them also traded crypto on the platform.

eToro shares on Nasdaq fell more than 10% after the announcement, even though the company beat analyst forecasts for earnings per share.

Shares Fall on the News

ETOR shares dropped to a low of $30.11 on Tuesday, ending the day down about 10.5%. The stock had already lost 4.4% in premarket trading. The company's market capitalization stands at roughly $3.33 billion.

The selloff came despite eToro beating Wall Street estimates: earnings per share came in at $0.68 against a $0.61 consensus. Total net income for the quarter was $53.4 million.

The current ETOR share price sits well below the level at which the company went public in 2025. Investors clearly wanted steadier crypto growth from eToro, not a deal that temporarily dilutes shareholders through a new share issue.

  • Total quarterly revenue came in at $1.59 billion, down from $2 billion a year earlier.
  • Crypto revenue fell to $1.34 billion, roughly 30% below the second quarter of 2025.
  • Net income from crypto was $19.7 million, while equities and commodities trading brought in $141 million.
  • Funded accounts grew 18% year over year to 4.28 million.

The weak crypto numbers lined up with a broader slowdown in digital asset activity during the second quarter. The company plainly admits crypto was the softest part of the report, while equities and commodities trading grew.

Crypto Business Stays Boxed In

Crypto trades on the platform fell to 1.4 million in July, a 73% drop from a year earlier. Invested amounts were down by half. US users of eToro can trade only Bitcoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash following a 2021 SEC settlement that gave the company 180 days to unwind the rest of its offerings.

Before the SEC settlement, eToro offered US users a much wider list of cryptocurrencies. After the settlement, the platform kept only three assets, and had to sell or move the rest outside its jurisdiction within a set window.

The company has been working around that limit in other ways. In April, eToro announced the purchase of self-custody wallet provider Zengo for $70 million and is also testing tokenized stocks on the Ethereum blockchain for round-the-clock trading. Self-custody wallets like these are becoming a more common bet among trading platforms.

eToro went public in 2025 at a $3.7-4 billion valuation and now trades on Nasdaq under the ticker ETOR. The TradeZero deal marks one of the company's biggest moves toward traditional US finance in recent memory.

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