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By Prakhar Srivastava
(Reuters) - Stock and crypto trading platform eToro beat estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday as strong capital market activity drove up trading income.
U.S. equities had an upbeat quarter as interest-rate cuts supported investor confidence, although volatility in crypto prompted some market participants to be cautious. Bitcoin saw its biggest monthly drop since mid-2021 in November.
Meanwhile, a heavy concentration of investments in select AI-linked stocks led to soaring valuations, raising concerns of a bubble in the market.
CEO Yoni Assia said on a call with analysts that crypto-native customers who had mainly traded in digital assets were now trading commodities - something the company had not seen before.
The company's net trading income from equities, commodities and currencies rose 43% to $115.6 million in the fourth quarter, driven by investor rotation between crypto and traditional asset classes, with particularly strong performance in commodities.
Gold's rally alongside bitcoin's decline is strengthening arguments that tokenized gold could replace the cryptocurrency as the preferred inflation hedge in crypto portfolios.
Assia told Reuters that he did not think crypto-native customers trading commodities was necessarily a lasting behavior shift.
Users often start with crypto before expanding into stocks and commodities, becoming more advanced traders over time, Assia said, adding that he did not believe it changed the broader market itself.
"EToro's earnings today suggest that crypto-native customers are approaching portfolio construction more strategically. They are not leaving risk markets entirely, but rather shifting focus as global conditions change," said Coin Bureau analyst Nic Puckrin.
"This is a sign of a more mature crypto market, with more opportunities to invest in commodities now available through tokenized real-world assets," Puckrin added.
EToro on Tuesday also launched 24/7 trading in gold. Assia said this is the first time a non-crypto asset is trading 24/7 on eToro.
The Tel Aviv-based firm's assets under administration grew by 11% year-on-year to $18.5 billion.
A new wave of fintech firms has emerged in recent years, challenging established Wall Street institutions by attracting younger investors with cheaper trading, intuitive apps and easier access to a wider range of investment options.
However, net contribution, which deducts the cost of revenue from crypto assets and margin interest expense, fell 10% to $227 million.
The company posted an adjusted profit of 71 cents per share for the three months ended December 31, beating analysts' estimates of 63 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo, Devika Syamnath and Maju Samuel)
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