Roswell, New Mexico, has made history by becoming the first city in the United States to adopt Bitcoin as part of its strategic financial reserves. This move marks a bold step toward integrating digital assets into public finance. By holding Bitcoin, the city aims to diversify its treasury and position itself for long-term financial strength. Roswell’s decision reflects growing interest in Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and a modern store of value for municipalities.
eToro’s Yoni Assia Joins Squawk Boxto unpack the firm’s Nasdaq IPO, $50M Bitcoin bet, and fintech future. With 130+ crypto assets and a $5.5B valuation, eToro eyes Gen Z’s $140T wealth shift, leaving behind rivals like Robinhood.
Imagine this: buying Bitcoin at $5 and flipping it for a $50 million profit. That’s the daring move eToro, led by CEO Yoni Assia, pulled off in the early 2010s, well before crypto fever grabbed the world.
In a recent CNBC interview, Assia spilled the details on eToro’s early gamble, a story of foresight, fortune, and a boardroom decision that still stings.
‘Bitcoin is Not Our Business’, eToro Board
eToro dove into crypto when it was an unknown territory. “We were very early,” Assia said, recalling how the company’s treasury snagged Bitcoin at $5, only to watch it rocket to $50,000.
The board, wary of straying from eToro’s core, forced a sale at $50 million as they cleared that Bitcoin is not their business area. Assia, with a sneaky grin, hinted he might’ve “fired” those cautious board members.
eToro’s Nasdaq Sees $192M Profit, Crypto Fuels 25% of Trades
This week, eToro hit a major milestone, listing on Nasdaq after shelving a 2021 SPAC plan. Patience paid off: 2024 saw $192 million in net income, with crypto driving $12 million. Crypto trading now fuels 25% of eToro’s business, up 10% from last year, with over 130 digital assets offered globally.
Vitalik’s eToro Connection
eToro’s crypto cred runs deeper. Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin once worked from their offices before launching his blockchain revolution, a nod to eToro’s early clout. This only highlights how early eToro was in crypto before the big fintech firms roped in.
It felt like eToro entered Bitcoin in its early stage, only to fumble it. However, it could not be part of their core investment strategy.
Crypto’s Lasting Impact
Assia remains steadfast: “Crypto is here to stay.” While stocks now drive 75% of revenue, and keep a quarter for digital currency trading. From a $5 Bitcoin bet to Nasdaq’s bright lights, eToro’s journey reflects crypto’s meteoric rise, and its story is far from over.
In a Nutshell
Yoni Assian’s eToro bought Bitcoin for $5 in its initial days, only to sell it at $50,000. Well, the board members, specially eToro may still feel like it was a bad move and should have HODL.
Nevertheless, with some top crypto leaders like Changpeng Zhao seeing Bitcoin cross $1M in the coming years, will Yoni’s eToro consider making a fresh start?
The post eToro CEO Reveals $5 Bitcoin Buy and $50M Exit – Here’s the Wild Story appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
eToro’s Yoni Assia Joins Squawk Box to unpack the firm’s Nasdaq IPO, $50M Bitcoin bet, and fintech future. With 130+ crypto assets and a $5.5B valuation, eToro eyes Gen Z’s $140T wealth shift, leaving behind rivals like Robinhood. Imagine this: buying Bitcoin at $5 and flipping it for a $50 million profit. That’s the daring …
Pi Network users, known as Pioneers, are expressing growing frustration over their inability to transfer their mined Pi Coins (PI) to the blockchain’s mainnet.
The concerns mount as the network’s Grace Period deadline approaches, leaving users with just four days to complete the necessary migration process.
Pi Network Sets March 14 Deadline for KYC and Mainnet Migration
The Pi Network has set a critical deadline for users to complete their Know Your Customer (KYC) verification and Mainnet migration. According to the announcement, Pioneers must finalize these processes by 8:00 AM UTC on March 14, 2025.
Failing to do so will result in the loss of most of their Pi holdings. However, coins mined within the past six months are exempt from this. The Grace Period, introduced to give users ample time to complete verification, has already been extended multiple times.
As per the Pi team, these extensions were designed to accommodate as many legitimate users as possible, ensuring their balances could be verified and migrated.
“The end of the Grace Period is inevitable to make sure the network can move on in its new phase without large sums of unverified and unclaimed mobile balances,” the blog read.
Despite this urgency, numerous Pioneers have reported issues preventing them from transferring their PI to the Mainnet. Among them is Jaro Giesbrecht. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Giesbrecht claimed he had completed the Mainnet checklist but remained stalled.
“The Pi network has done nothing to help solve this problem. It is a very common problem. Pi has done nothing to help fix this and other problems,” he wrote.
Giesbrecht intensified his criticism, arguing that the deadline should be extended until all Pioneer issues are resolved. He suggested that failing to do so would render the entire process ineffective and raise concerns about the project’s legitimacy.
The issue appears widespread, with other Pioneers echoing similar complaints on X.
“The whole process is a joke. ~80% of my balance shows as unverified, although all of my security circle has completed KYC. No additional actions are listed to be taken in order to clear this up. Furthermore, nobody got back to me on a support ticket I opened weeks ago. What gives?” remarked a user.
Furthermore, users also noted that Step 9 on the Mainnet checklist—”Migrate to Mainnet”—remains unresolved, leaving their Pi balances in limbo.
“What’s the problem with the mainnet migration? Are we to forfeit our mined PI due to an error from your end?” a user posted.
Pi Network Mainnet Migration Issues. Source: X/Abissan
Pi Coin Sees Double-Digit Losses Amid Binance Listing Uncertainty
While the looming deadline worries many, others eagerly await March 14, widely recognized as Pi Day. The occasion has sparked optimism for a potential price surge despite Pi Coin’s recent struggles in the market.
“As long as we don’t break $1.2 support, I’m bullish. PI day is approaching, and hopefully, we will see a pump,” an analyst wrote.
Over the past week, PI has lost 16.3% of its value. Moreover, in the last 24 hours, it suffered a double-digit drop, trading at $1.40 at press time. This represented a decline of 12.2% over the past day alone.
However, these tools do not grant users full authority, as Binance retains the final decision-making power. Therefore, the uncertainty surrounding the decision has led to frustration.
In protest, they flooded the exchange with one-star reviews on Google Play Store. A similar decline in ratings was observed on Bybit. The exchange’s CEO had previously called Pi Network a scam.
