A story has recently resurfaced. eToro CEO Yoni Assia mentioned in an interview after the company went public on Nasdaq that the firm once bought Bitcoin at $5 and ultimately made $50 million from that investment. This wasn’t a recent move but part of an early strategy from the early 2010s. Back then, Bitcoin was far from a mainstream topic.

They were truly early at that time. Assia said that when he started buying Bitcoin for eToro’s treasury, the price was just $5 each. Later, that $5 grew to $50K, making the entire position worth $50 million. It wasn’t until the board called a halt, saying it wasn’t their core business, that he was forced to sell. That decision seemed rational at the time, but looking back now? Assia chuckled and said maybe they should have fired the directors who insisted on selling Bitcoin back then.

Even more interesting is that Ethereum’s founder Vitalik Buterin once worked in eToro’s office. This detail may seem insignificant, but it highlights a key point: how early eToro was in the crypto space. At that time, traditional financial institutions were still watching from the sidelines, while eToro was already experimenting.

Fast forward to 2024, eToro finally listed on Nasdaq. The company originally planned to go public via SPAC in 2021 but later abandoned that plan. Assia said they chose to wait until they had stable profits on the books before going public. That patience seems to have paid off. Last year, their net revenue was $192 million, with $12 million coming from crypto trading. According to regulatory filings, crypto trading accounted for 25% of the platform’s total trading volume, up 10 percentage points from two years prior.

Of course, there have been hurdles along the way. In September last year, eToro was fined $1.5 million by the SEC for operating unlicensed brokerage services in the crypto space. The company didn’t admit guilt but agreed to make adjustments, including restricting U.S. users to trading only Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash. It was a pragmatic compromise.

But Assia still insists that crypto remains part of their long-term strategy. He said no one doubts that crypto will continue to exist; it’s a new form of capital markets. Outside the U.S., eToro supports over 130 digital assets.

Yoni Assia’s story actually reflects the evolution of the entire industry. From buying Bitcoin at $5 to ringing the Nasdaq bell, from fringe experiments to mainstream acceptance, and now facing regulatory realities. Throughout this process, his personal wealth story (though that $50 million was eventually sold) and eToro’s growth trajectory demonstrate how long it has taken for the crypto market to go from being ignored to its current status.

Interestingly, even as traditional finance expands (now 75% of revenue from stock trading), crypto trading still accounts for a quarter of the business. What does this suggest? Possibly that demand for crypto assets has never truly waned.