eToro CEO reveals purchase of Bitcoins at $5
eToro’s $5 Bitcoin bet earns $50M windfall, CEO reveals early treasury gain after Nasdaq debut
eToro CEO Yoni Assia has revealed that the trading platform made one of the earliest and most successful institutional Bitcoin investments, turning an initial treasury purchase at $5 per BTC into a $50 million gain.
Speaking with CNBC following eToro’s Nasdaq debut, Assia shared that the company acquired Bitcoin in the early 2010s—well before mainstream adoption—and eventually liquidated the position after a ten-thousandfold increase in price.
“We were very early to crypto,” said Assia. “I started buying Bitcoin at $5 for eToro’s treasury… $5 became $50,000 and eventually $50 million before my board told me I had to sell it. It’s not our business.”
Long-term crypto exposure remains
While eToro’s revenue is now dominated by equities—with about 75% of income tied to stocks—crypto remains a major pillar of the business. According to Assia, digital assets still account for 25% of the platform’s activity, and users can trade over 130 different cryptocurrencies.
Assia also recalled that Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin once worked out of eToro’s offices before launching the Ethereum network in 2015, underscoring the firm’s deep roots in the crypto space.
Pivot to stocks inspired by Buffett dinner
The CEO noted that a dinner with Warren Buffett helped influence eToro’s broader shift toward traditional finance. Still, Assia reaffirmed his belief in digital assets and their long-term role in global markets.
“Nobody doubts that crypto is here to stay,” he said.
The comments come as eToro joins the growing list of public companies with crypto ties now trading on Nasdaq.
Recently we wrote that eToro has teamed up with Google to launch a groundbreaking advertising initiative, becoming one of the first global brands to use Google DeepMind’s Veo 2 video generation technology for a full-scale campaign.
