Social stock and crypto trading platform eToro has confidentially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering in the United States, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company could list in New York as early as the second quarter of this year, targeting a valuation of more than $5 billion, according to one of the sources. The company is collaborating with banks such as Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and UBS on its plans, they said.
A confidential filing with the U.S. regulator is a common approach for companies seeking to go public, offering them the flexibility to finalize their floatation plans away from the public eye.
eToro originally struck a deal to go public via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company merger in March 2021 with FinTech Acquisition Corp. V, backed by banking entrepreneur Betsy Cohen, at a valuation of $10.4 billion.
However, those plans were later abandoned amid the 2022 bear market after failing to get SEC approval. eToro’s valuation dropped to $3.5 billion following a $250 million funding round announced in March 2023, with ION Group, SoftBank and Velvet Sea Ventures participating, among others.
eToro declined to comment when reached by The Block.
Other than Bitcoin miners, Coinbase is one of the only crypto firms to have gone public in the U.S. so far, making its debut via a direct listing on the Nasdaq in April 2021 under the ticker symbol COIN. Digital asset platform Bakkt also went public on the NYSE via a SPAC merger in October 2021, with the company reportedly courted for acquisition by Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent of Donald Trump’s Truth Social.
USDC stablecoin issuer Circle also confidentially filed for an IPO of its equity securities in January 2024, pending SEC review, but is yet to become a publicly traded company. Similarly to eToro, Circle previously agreed to go public through a merger with a SPAC named Concord Acquisition Corp., but that arrangement also later fizzled out.
In September, eToro agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle SEC charges that it operated unlawfully as a broker and clearing agency connected to its crypto business without admitting or denying the agency's findings. It also agreed to end support for certain tokens in the U.S.
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