Kategorie: Crypto News

The stock brokerage and burgeoning crypto platform eToro is stepping into the Wall Street spotlight, having priced its initial public offering at $52 per share.

This move signals the company’s readiness to gauge investor appetite for new listings in a market still finding its footing after a period of volatility.

The Israel-based firm successfully raised nearly $310 million through the sale of almost 6 million shares, a transaction that pegs the company’s valuation at approximately $4.2 billion.

This pricing lands above its initially targeted range of $46 to $50 per share.

Alongside the company’s offering, existing investors are also divesting an additional tranche of nearly 6 million shares, further shaping the public float.

The path to this moment has been paved with cautious optimism.

The IPO market had shown signs of a potential resurgence earlier in the year, particularly following President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January, which some hoped would break a prolonged drought influenced by rising interest rates and persistent inflationary concerns.

Indeed, CoreWeave’s successful March debut provided a glimmer of hope for other aspiring public companies, including eToro, online lending giant Klarna, and ticket reseller StubHub.

However, this nascent recovery faced headwinds.

“Tariff uncertainty temporarily stalled those plans,” the original article noted, capturing a period of market jitters.

Consequently, eToro, which had filed for its IPO in March, alongside Klarna and StubHub, opted to shelve its immediate ambitions as markets grappled with the implications of trade policy shifts.

A bellwether for risk? eToro’s debut and market sentiment

Now, as eToro prepares for its Nasdaq debut under the ticker symbol ETOR, its performance may serve as a significant litmus test for the broader public market’s willingness to embrace risk.

The IPO landscape is showing renewed activity; digital physical therapy company Hinge Health has commenced its IPO roadshow, revealing in a Tuesday filing its intention to raise up to $437 million.

Also on Tuesday, fintech innovator Chime submitted its prospectus to the SEC, indicating its own public market aspirations.

This follows the April move by another trading application, Webull, which went public via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Crypto aspirations fueling growth and investor interest

Founded in 2007 by brothers Yoni and Ronen Assia along with David Ring, eToro operates in a competitive landscape, challenging established players like Robinhood.

Its revenue model is built on fees tied to trading activities, such as spreads on buy and sell orders, and non-trading operations including withdrawals and currency conversions.

The company’s financial trajectory has been notable, with net income soaring almost thirteenfold last year to $192.4 million, a substantial increase from $15.3 million the previous year.

A significant driver of this growth has been its expanding crypto business.

Revenue from cryptoassets more than tripled to exceed $12 million in 2024, and crypto-related activities accounted for a quarter of its net trading contribution last year, up sharply from 10% in the prior year.

This isn’t eToro’s maiden voyage into the public offering process.

“In 2022, the company scrapped plans to hit the market through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) during a sharp downturn in equity markets,” the source material highlighted.

That earlier deal would have valued eToro at a considerably higher figure of more than $10 billion.

Despite the previous setback, CEO Yoni Assia remained committed to a public listing.

He told CNBC early last year that eToro was still aiming for a market debut but was “evaluating the right opportunity” while building relationships with exchanges, including the Nasdaq.

“We definitely are eyeing the public markets,” Assia stated at the time. “I definitely see us becoming eventually a public company.”

Adding a vote of confidence to the current offering, eToro disclosed in its prospectus that investment behemoth BlackRock had “expressed interest in buying $100 million in shares at the IPO price.”

The company further detailed its plan to sell 5 million shares in the offering, with existing investors and executives slated to sell an additional 5 million.

The underwriting syndicate for this significant financial maneuver includes industry heavyweights Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and UBS.

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• Robinhood has agreed to acquire WonderFi for US$179 million, marking its entry into Canada.
• The acquisition deal values WonderFi at CA$0.36 per share, a 41% premium.
• The deal includes the acquisition of Bitbuy and Coinsquare platforms.

Robinhood Markets has announced that it has agreed to acquire Vancouver-based WonderFi Technologies in an all-cash transaction valued at US$179 million, marking the retail brokerage’s official entry into the Canadian cryptocurrency market.

Under the terms of the deal, WonderFi shareholders will receive C$0.36 per share, representing a 41% premium over the firm’s closing price before the announcement, in a transaction that values the Canadian firm at approximately C$250 million.

Investors have responded positively to the news, sending Robinhood shares up 6.4% to trade around $61 on Wednesday, while WonderFi’s stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange jumped 34% to C$0.24, highlighting the market’s enthusiasm for cross-border crypto consolidation.

Veteran investor Kevin O’Leary, a prominent backer of WonderFi and Shark Tank personality, praised the acquisition as a testament to WonderFi’s “picks and shovels” approach, which focuses on durable infrastructure rather than speculative token bets.

O’Leary remarked in a recent interview that the proliferation of stablecoins and real-time settlement capabilities will play a more decisive role in crypto’s mainstream adoption than volatility-driven price rallies.

Robinhood’s entry into the Canadian market

Robinhood’s expansion into Canada via WonderFi complements the company’s mission to democratize finance for all, tapping into a market where retail crypto adoption continues to accelerate alongside growing mainstream interest.

The acquisition brings under Robinhood’s umbrella two of Canada’s most prominent crypto trading platforms, Bitbuy and Coinsquare, each of which has built a loyal user base since their respective inceptions.

By integrating WonderFi’s infrastructure and expertise, Robinhood gains immediate access to a market that saw over C$3.57 billion in trading volume on WonderFi’s platforms during fiscal 2024, reflecting a 28% year-over-year increase in activity.

All of WonderFi’s existing employees, whose ranks now exceed 140 professionals specialising in customer support and regulatory compliance, will transition to Robinhood, bolstering the US firm’s ability to navigate Canada’s distinct financial oversight environment.

Notably, the acquisition follows Robinhood’s announcement earlier this year that it expects to close its US$200 million purchase of Bitstamp, the Luxembourg-based crypto exchange, in the first half of 2025, further underscoring the company’s global ambitions.

Robinhood is evolving beyond commission-free equities

The move underscores Robinhood’s broader strategy to evolve beyond its origins as a commission-free equities trading app by cultivating a more diversified, borderless financial services ecosystem centred on digital assets.

Robinhood’s Chief Executive Officer, Vlad Tenev, emphasised that the WonderFi acquisition represents “a critical first step” in establishing the company’s Canadian presence, noting that the region’s regulatory framework and investor adoption rates position it as a natural complement to Robinhood’s existing markets.

Analysts at Mizuho predicted that a successful Canadian launch could ultimately contribute up to $250 million in incremental annual revenue, assuming Robinhood can leverage WonderFi’s local brand recognition and operational footprint.

Robinhood’s Q1 2025 earnings report, released just days before the WonderFi deal, showcased a 50% surge in revenue to $927 million, driven in large part by a $252 million contribution from its crypto trading business.

The company’s net income of $336 million for the quarter reflected a 114% increase year-over-year, positioning Robinhood among the most profitable US fintech platforms in an industry still grappling with regulatory uncertainty.

If executed smoothly, the acquisition could serve as a blueprint for Robinhood’s future forays into other regulated markets, leveraging a playbook of acquiring established, locally compliant crypto services rather than building from scratch.

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• Hashed deposit of 18.45 million SAND to Binance signals a possible sell-off.
• The Sandbox (SAND) price, which has risen by 32.6% over the week, has dropped 4.1% today.
• The key levels to watch are the support at $0.31 and the resistance at $0.3627.

The Sandbox (SAND) has been capturing attention in the cryptocurrency market, with its price climbing 32.6% over the past week to $0.3517.

Despite this impressive gain, the token has faced a 4.1% decline in the last 24 hours.

Adding to the market dynamics, crypto investment firm Hashed recently deposited 18.45 million SAND tokens, valued at approximately $6.3 million, to Binance.

Hashed(@hashed_official) deposited 18.45M $SAND($6.3M) to #Binance 2 hours ago.

Hashed is very good at buying low and selling high—just last month, they withdrew 11.36M $SAND($2.9M) from #Binance at $0.26. Since then, $SAND is up 35%.https://t.co/NbfRQu5wf2 pic.twitter.com/LYmx4WQxkG

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 13, 2025

This significant transaction has sparked discussions among traders and analysts about its potential impact on SAND’s price trajectory.

Recent SAND price movements

Over the past 24 hours, SAND has traded between $0.337 and $0.3706, reflecting the inherent volatility in the cryptocurrency market.

Despite the recent dip, the token has shown resilience, with a remarkable 32.6% increase over the past seven days, moving from a low of $0.2641 to a high of $0.3679.

Looking at a broader timeframe, SAND has gained 17.4% over the last 14 days and 33.2% over the past month, indicating a strong upward trend.

However, it’s worth noting that over the past year, the token has decreased by 16.7%, highlighting the cyclical nature of cryptocurrency investments.

Impact of Hashed’s strategic token movement

Notably, today’s SAND transaction, valued at around $6.3 million, follows a strategic withdrawal by Hashed last month.

On April 10, 2025, at 3:00 PM UTC, Hashed withdrew 11.36 million SAND tokens from Binance when the price was $0.26, totalling $2.9 million.

Since then, SAND’s price has appreciated by 35%, reaching $0.35 before the recent deposit.

Today’s deposit of such a large amount of SAND to Binance could signal that Hashed is preparing to sell, which might put downward pressure on the price.

This is especially relevant given the increased trading volume observed after the deposit.

Immediately after the deposit, trading activity surged, with volume on the SAND/USDT pair jumping to over 25 million SAND in the subsequent hour.

This was significantly higher than the previous 24-hour average of 15 million SAND.

The heightened activity suggests that traders are reacting swiftly to the news, possibly anticipating a price movement.

From a technical perspective, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 64 after briefly entering the overbought region on the daily chart, suggesting that while SAND has been on an upward trend, it is currently cooling off in anticipation of the next move.

The MACD is also signalling a retracement with a declining histogram and the MACD and signal lines converging.

If the price falls below the support at $0.31, we could witness a retest of the support at around $0.27.

However, if the $0.31 support holds and the resistance at $0.3627 is broken, the token could regain its bullish momentum, propelling it towards $0.41.

However, it’s important to note that the broader cryptocurrency market has been experiencing mixed sentiments, which could influence risk appetite for assets like SAND, although metaverse and gaming tokens, including SAND, have been gaining traction recently, driven by renewed investor interest in virtual reality projects.

Keeping an eye on trading volumes, technical indicators, and broader market sentiments will be crucial for those looking to capitalise on or hedge against potential price swings in the coming days.

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