In the world of finance, adapting to change is crucial. In this context, Yoni Assia, eToro’s co-founder and CEO, is a prime example, not only adapting but also embracing new financial technologies to democratize trading thereby allowing the ‘common man’ to trade. The mindset of adopting a fresh model to drive innovation is deep-rooted in his life journey. Having tasted success as a trader in high school, and subsequently weathering the dot-com bubble crash, Assia decided on a fresh perspective for trading during the nascent days of eToro.
In 2007, trading platforms were complex with multiple screens and numerous figures. Opening a brokerage account was also a cumbersome process that took several days. This is where eToro, under Assia’s steer, differed. Their user-friendly model allowed users to download the software, fund their account using a credit card, and start trading. This fresh outlook didn’t just stop at conventional share trading.
The influence of Vitalik Buterin, a young programmer, led eToro to introduce Bitcoin trading, a month prior to the Mt. Gox collapse that saw Bitcoin plummet from $1,200 to $150. Bear in mind; it was a high-risk venture as only about 2% of eToro’s customers were trading crypto at that time. However, by 2017, this number had increased to a staggering 90%.
Assia’s early adoption of Bitcoin was driven by his belief in the immense potential of transforming the entire financial industry into a blockchain industry. He envisioned tokenization of assets on the Bitcoin protocol to bolster this transformation. Undeniably, this early adoption of blockchain technology by eToro, mainly stimulated by Assia, led to a paradigm shift in the online trading landscape.
On the other side of the fence, Elon Musk recently hinted at removing the ‘block’ feature on his social media platform. This potential move has raised eyebrows among users. The primary concern of these users is the risk of increased harassment, a possible influx of spam and scam accounts, and the proliferation of bots.
To round up, while we applaud Yoni Assia and eToro’s pioneering approach in implementing a more accessible trading model and fostering early crypto adoptions, the possible move by Elon Musk to delete the block feature on his platform perks up some significant arguments. The unfolding of these scenarios is worth keeping an eye on.
Source: Cointelegraph
