Israeli social trading firm eToro raises $100 million in private funding

[March 23, 2018]  TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israeli social investment platform eToro said it raised $100 million in private financing, bringing total funds raised to $162 million.

The investment round was led by China Minsheng Financial, with SBI Group, Korea Investment Partners and others participating. The money was raised at a company valuation of $800 million.

The company said it will use the funds to expand into new markets as well as continue its blockchain research and the development of digital assets.

It completed its capital raising with the support of the London Stock Exchange Group’s private placement platform.

The company said growth has been driven, in part, by demand for investments in the cryptocurrency market.

Founded in 2007, eToro has over 9 million users who can manually invest in over 1,500 instruments while those who lack time or experience can automatically copy the trades of other traders on the platform.

(Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by Steven Scheer)

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