eToro to acquire rival trading app Gatsby

eToro is set to buyout upstart trading app Gatsby, which focuses on offering consumers commission-free bond trading.

In a significant move towards consolidation in the consumer trading app space, eToro has agreed to acquire options trading start-up, Gatsby.

The deal, which is around $50m of stock and cash, has been fully approved by the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra), after first being filed for approval in December 2021.

The New York-based Gatsby, founded in 2020 by Jeff Myers and Ryan Belanger-Saleh, offers a commission-free trading app that competes with eToro, as well as Robinhood and Freetrade in the UK.

eToro said the purchase will enable it to offer a wider variety of products to its US consumers.

The Israeli company has already been expanding the variety of investment opportunities it offers to consumers in recent months.

In September 2021, eToro rolled out a new DeFi portfolio, offering customers the chance to invest in the world of decentralised finance, offering tokens such as Ether (ETH), Uniswap (UNI), and Chainlink (LINK).

eToro has had some of its ambitions scuppered in recent months, however.

The firm had planned to list on the NASDAQ after a $10.4bn merger with FinTech Acquisition Corp. V (FinTech V), a publically-traded SPAC run by American businesswoman Betsy Cohen.

These plans were then axed as the regulatory conditions to list were not met by the 30 June deadline.

Commenting on the merger Yoni Assia, CEO of eToro said "scaling its US business is a strategic focus for eToro” and said the current tumultuous economic climate could steer investors towards bonds. 

Gatsby. had been successful at attracting funding, in January 2021 it raised $10 million in a Series A round of funding, with its backers including Techstars Ventures, Beta Bridge Capital, and a network of “super angels” placed by ClearList and an oversubscribed SeedInvest campaign.