Multi-asset social investment network eToro revealed on Wednesday that it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Gatsby, an options trading platform.
Yoni Assia, eToro CEO and Co-Founder, commented
Yoni Assia
Source: LinkedIn
We’ve seen a seismic shift in the balance of power away from traditional finance institutions towards 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. These retail investors are looking for opportunities to generate returns in today’s bear market.
Assa further highlighted eToro’s plans to scale their US business. He explained that Gatsby will enable eToro to provide US users with access to a safe and simple way to trade options in challenging markets.
Integration of Gatsby
Founded in 2018 by Co-CEOs and Co-founders Jeff Myers and Ryan Belanger-Saleh, the commission-free options and stock trading app Gatsby is focused on the younger generation of investors. According to the official announcement, Gatsby’s team will become part of eToro including Davis Gaynes (President and Co-founder), Peter Quinn (Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder), Jeffrey Kleiss (Chief Technology Officer), Matt Morris (Head of Product), and other talented individuals.
Ryan Belanger-Saleh, Gatsby Co-CEO, said:
We came up with the idea of Gatsby while we were in London. We were convinced there was an opportunity for us to demystify markets and provide an options platform focused on the needs of a new generation of US traders. We’ve always been huge fans of the social aspects of eToro. They’ve really been the pioneers of social investing and we’ve always thought of them as the cool older sibling we’d love to hang with! In terms of product and culture, it’s a great fit and we’re really excited about the next chapter in our shared future.
With the latest acquisition, eToro will further diversify its offering to US users, which is currently focused on crypto and stocks. The integration of Gatsby will further support the broker’s goal of providing multi-asset investment tools to US users as the firm continues the growth of its social investing network through education and enabling simple access to the assets and tools.
Meanwhile, eToro recently announced it is staying private and the acquisition deal with FinTech Acquisition Corp V was officially terminated. The firms initially revealed their proposed merger in March 2021 but growing inflation and worries over recession made the conditions challenging and the two companies decided against the merger.
