Social trading focused online broker eToro has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Gatsby, an app-based options trading platform. The price paid by eToro is reportedly $50 million.

Gatsby (at website trygatsby.com), based in New York, is a commission-free options and stock trading app focused on a younger demographic. It was created by Co-CEOs and Co-founders Jeff Myers and Ryan Belanger-Saleh in 2018 and the team that will become part of eToro includes Davis Gaynes (President and Co-founder), Peter Quinn (Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder), Jeffrey Kleiss (Chief Technology Officer), Matt Morris (Head of Product), and other talented individuals.

Yoni Assia, eToro CEO and Co-Founder said:

“We’ve seen a seismic shift in the balance of power away from traditional finance institutions towards the retail investor. The internet has democratized financial information and a sea change has taken place, empowering more everyday investors – particularly Gen Z and Millennials – to trade and invest. These retail investors are looking for opportunities to generate returns in today’s bear market.”

“Against this backdrop, we are incredibly excited to welcome the Gatsby team to the eToro family. We have a shared mission of empowering investors through simple, transparent investing tools. Scaling our US business is a strategic focus for eToro and through Gatsby we can provide US users with access to a safe and simple way to trade options, which we know are particularly attractive in challenging markets.”

Ryan Belanger-Saleh, Gatsby Co-CEO added:

“We came up with the idea of Gatsby while we were in London. We were convinced there was an opportunity for us to demystify markets and provide an options platform focused on the needs of a new generation of US traders. We’ve always been huge fans of the social aspects of eToro. They’ve really been the pioneers of social investing and we’ve always thought of them as the cool older sibling we’d love to hang with! In terms of product and culture, it’s a great fit and we’re really excited about the next chapter in our shared future.”

The company said that this acquisition is a key step in the ongoing diversification of eToro’s offering to US users, which is currently focused on crypto and stocks. Gatsby’s integration will support eToro’s goal of providing multi-asset investment tools to US users as it continues to grow its social investing network through education, innovation and enabling simple access to the assets and tools people want.