eToro bets big on crypto rebound — activates BitLicense, acquires Zengo for $70M despite Q1 slump!

eToro is doubling down on crypto even as its own numbers tell a rougher story: Q1 revenue from crypto assets fell 38% year-over-year to $2.15 billion, net trading income from crypto derivatives dropped 57% to $33.4 million, and the weakness extended into April with trades sliding 32% YoY and average invested amounts per trade off 22%.

CEO Yoni Assia isn't blinking. Speaking to CNBC, he said he expects crypto to push back toward all-time highs later this year, and pointed to eToro's own retail data as a contrarian signal: when markets fall, users buy the dip. The platform activated its BitLicense — three years after it was granted — to begin trading in New York, and closed a $70 million acquisition of self-custodial wallet provider Zengo on April 30.

Assia framed the Zengo deal as a strategic bridge between traditional finance and on-chain infrastructure, including prediction markets…