Trading platform eToro is preparing to go public in a move that could see the crypto-friendly company valued at $5 billion, the Financial Times reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The publication reported that eToro had submitted confidential regulatory documents to the SEC in the U.S. for an initial public offering.
According to the report, eToro founder and CEO Yoni Assia said last year that listing in the U.S. would be better for the company's global investors.
eToro declined comment to Decrypt about the report.
Set up in Israel in 2007, eToro's platform allows users to trade stocks and cryptocurrencies. It first allowed Bitcoin trading in 2013 before introducing other cryptocurrencies, according to its website. The FT added that the eToro manages $11.3 billion in total assets.
Last year, eToro agreed to settle charges with the SEC, paying a $1.5 million fine after the regulator alleged it had operated "an unregistered broker and unregistered clearing agency in connection with its trading platform that facilitated buying and selling certain crypto assets as securities" to U.S. customers.
eToro removed a number of cryptocurrencies from its American platform following the lawsuit, leaving only Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash.
Edited by Andrew Hayward