The Israel-based eToro Group says it’s looking for a valuation of up to $4 billion with its initial public offering in the US, as the stock and crypto trading platform forges ahead with listing on the Nasdaq.

The company and existing stockholders are aiming to raise $500 million through offering a total of 10 million shares priced between $46 to $50 apiece, eToro said on May 5.

A filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission shows eToro is offering 5 million shares, with a further 5 million being put up by the likes of the company’s co-founder and CEO, Yoni Assia; his brother and executive director, Ronen Assia; along with venture firms Spark Capital, BRM Group and Andalusian Private Capital, among others.

The company offers stock and crypto trading targeting retail and plans to list on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker “ETOR.”

It’s slated to compete with Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD), which saw crypto trading dip in the first quarter but whose shares have climbed by nearly 30% so far this year, according to Google Finance.

In the filing, eToro said some BlackRock funds and accounts indicated interest in buying up to $100 million worth of shares at IPO. eToro has also put aside 500,000 shares to sell through a directed share program, typically targeted at employees.

The company reported that its revenue from crypto in 2024 was $12.1 billion, up from $3.4 billion in 2023. It expected crypto to account for 37% of its commission from trading activity in the first quarter of 2025, down from 43% in the year-ago quarter.

Source: Matthew Sigel

In a section of its filing listing possible risks to the business, eToro warned its users could leave, or it could struggle to get more users, due to negative perceptions of the cryptocurrencies it lists, “either as a result of media coverage or by experiencing significant losses.”

Other crypto-related risks the eToro flagged included US state-level crypto regulation, which it said “may place strain on our resources and make it difficult to operate in certain jurisdictions, if at all.”

It also said it expects “to continue to incur significant costs” due to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) laws “on an ongoing basis.”

IPOs ready to push after Trump tariff jolt 

EToro initially made confidential filings with the SEC in January for a public offering, before publicly announcing the plans on March 24.

The company reportedly delayed its IPO after President Donald Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff announcements tanked global markets and stopped many in-the-works public offerings.

Related: Are Donald Trump’s tariffs a legal house of cards?

Crypto companies are also lining up to go public, with stablecoin issuer Circle filing on April 1 but then pausing its plans amid the uncertainty.

Crypto exchange Kraken is also reportedly considering a public offering for early next year, which has accelerated its plan with Trump’s election.

EToro’s public offering is led by Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, UBS Investment Bank and Citigroup.

Legal Panel: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius, has blasted the government’s 20-year “venom-laced” sentence request, declaring it a “death-in-prison sentence.”

The US Department of Justice requested Mashinsky receive at least 20 years behind bars in the May 8 sentencing for his role in misleading Celsius users and profiting from the price manipulation of Celsius (CEL), which would make the 59-year-old 79 if he serves the whole sentence.

Lawyers acting for Mashinsky argued in a May 5 reply memorandum filed in a New York district court that he should receive no more than 366 days, because the DOJ hasn’t taken into account his status as a nonviolent first-time offender with a previously unblemished 30-year history in business.  

“The government’s venom-laced submission recasts this case as one involving a predator with an intent to target victims, harm them, and steal their money,” they said.

“It concludes by recommending that a first time, nonviolent offender who pled guilty and accepts responsibility receive a death-in-prison sentence.”

Lawyers acting for Mashinsky argue the DOJ has ignored their client’s background in its sentencing request. Source: Court Listener

Mashinsky pleaded guilty to two out of seven charges 

As part of a plea agreement, Mashinsky pleaded guilty in December 2024 to commodities fraud and manipulating the price of CEL, earning $48 million by selling his holdings before Celsius collapsed in June 2022. Prosecutors initially filed seven charges in July 2023.

Lawyers acting for Mashinsky allege the DOJ’s push for a 20-year sentence is because their client is unwilling to “capitulate to the government’s exaggerated characterizations of his actions,” specifically that he was a “fraud from the get-go.”

“Alex is inserted as the scapegoat for every corporate action, every group decision, every unanimous vote, every market fluctuation, and every employee’s watercooler speculation,” they said.

As part of its April 28 sentencing request, the DOJ said Mashinsky’s guilty plea showed that his crimes were deliberate, calculated decisions to lie, deceive and steal.

Days earlier on April 23, US federal prosecutors also filed statements from hundreds of victims who lost money due to the Celsius collapse. They detailed how some had entrusted their life savings to the protocol, believing Mashinsky’s assurances that it was safe.

Related: What do crypto users want to happen to Alex Mashinsky?

Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, 2022, owing $4.7 billion to creditors after halting withdrawals in June, citing volatile market conditions.

In November 2023, a US bankruptcy court approved Celsius’ restructuring plan to repay customers, and in August 2024, $2.53 billion was paid to 251,000 creditors.

Former Celsius chief revenue officer Roni Cohen-Pavon also pleaded guilty in September 2023 to similar charges, but his Dec. 11 sentencing has been delayed until after Mashinsky is sentenced.

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Bitcoin Core developers have decided to remove a limit on transaction data in the next network upgrade, enabling more data to be included in a more efficient way. 

“Bitcoin Core’s next release will, by default, relay and mine transactions whose OP_RETURN outputs exceed 80 bytes and allow any number of these outputs,” read the announcement on GitHub by Bitcoin developer Greg Sanders on May 5. 

The long-standing limit was originally a “gentle signal that block space should be used sparingly for non-payment proof of publication data,” has outlived its utility, he added. 

The proposal (PR 32359) was created by Bitcoin pioneer Peter Todd at the request of Chaincode Labs. 

OP_RETURN is a special type of Bitcoin (BTC) transaction output that allows storing small amounts of data on the blockchain, popularized during the ordinals inscriptions craze in early 2024.

Unlike regular transaction outputs, OP_RETURN outputs are not spendable and don’t bloat unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs).

The original limit is no longer effective as people found ways around it, such as using fake output addresses, which are actually worse for the network, while some mining services were already ignoring the limit, said Sanders. 

“Large-data inscriptions are happening regardless and can be done in more or less abusive ways; the cap merely channels them into more opaque forms that cause damage to the network.” 

Related: Bitcoin block size could grow to 4 MB with inscriptions: Research

Benefits of removing the limit include a cleaner UTXO set, or database of spendable outputs, more consistent behavior across the network, and better alignment with how Bitcoin is actually being used, he added. 

Three possible paths were considered: keeping the cap, raising the cap and removing the cap, which was ultimately decided upon after earning “broad, though not perhaps unanimous, support.” 

A controversial change to Bitcoin 

“Many users find this to be an undesirable change for a number of reasons,” said Bitcoiner Samson Mow on X on May 5. He added that users “can refuse to upgrade and stay on 29.0 or run another implementation” of the network. 

Critics said that the proposal was introduced without a proper consensus process. 

“I think one thing is pretty clear, there is no consensus at the moment on this OP_RETURN issue,” said Ten31 Fund managing partner Marty Bent.

Some also expressed concerns about deprioritizing Bitcoin’s financial utility and raised questions about undisclosed conflicts of interest.

Critics of OP_RETURN limit removal. Source: moonsettler

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