Saturday, March 20, 2021

Crypto and Equity Trading Platform eToro Came Public via a $10.4 Billion SPAC Deal

Everything I know about eToro came from a House of Commons Treasury Committee hearing on crypto assets. That and the adverts. For a while the ads were ubiquitous. But mainly the committee hearing.

First up, Business Insider, March 18:

Trading app eToro goes public via $10.4 billion SPAC deal

  • Fast-growing retail and crypto investing demand helped eToro secure a $10.4 billion merger.
  • And it will bolster its US launch later this year, while other trading apps also plan to go public.
  • Insider Intelligence publishes hundreds of insights, charts, and forecasts on the Fintech industry. Learn more about becoming a client.

The UK-based trading app is merging with special purpose acquisition company ( SPAC ) FinTech Acquisition Corp. V to list on the NASDAQ once the transaction closes in Q3, and they will together be valued at $10.4 billion, per its press release....

....With the SPAC deal, eToro has significant resources to support this expansion, including $800 million net cash on its balance sheet. However, it could be challenging to secure the same growth momentum because local retail investors already have a wide range of options, including Robinhood, Public.com, and Stash....

...MUCH MORE

From the House of Commons:

Treasury Committee 
Wednesday 20 June 2018 Meeting started at 3.11pm, ended 5.23pm 
Here's the transcript of the oral testimony, The witnesses are:
Marco Santori, President and Chief Legal Officer, Blockchain,
Obi Nwosu, CEO and Founder, Coinfloor, 
Iqbal Gandham, Chairman, CryptoUK and Managing Director, eToro 
Izabella Kaminska, Editor, FT Alphaville 
Oral evidence: Digital Currencies, HC 910
 
The proceedings were reported out of the committee to the House of Commons  
 
If interested, here is the video recording of the hearing 
 
 
According to the critics, one witness in particular stood out from the rest:

Izzy came back for a special Markets Live production:

Join us for Kaminska Live at 3pm, a Parliament TV watching party
And apparently wowed the critics:
"Kaminska, a master of any medium she chooses... Alphaville's livestream will be a case study of the craft."
-COLUMBIA BLOGGING REVIEW

"FT Alphaville has a lot under the hood, tight and fast".
-CAR AND BLOGGER

"Kaminska Live-It's a smash, number one with a bullet!"
-BlogBillboard

"FT Alphaville's Live Blog of Kaminska et al. is intelligent; To use a tired cliché, a must read."
-NEW YORK REVIEW OF BLOGS

"Mere months into her tenure, the team Kaminska has fielded is redefining what a business blog should be."
-EDITOR & BLOGGER.
Seriously, we are fans - and kudos to the FT/Alphaville staff. Here's
By: Dan McCrum, Jemima Kelly

 

Finally, from TechCrunch, March 18:

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