eToro has led a $12.5 million strategic investment in onchain derivatives platform Extended, joining a growing list of financial trading firms that are positioning themselves around decentralized market infrastructure rather than traditional crypto exchange services. Jump Crypto also participated in the financing, which was announced on July 2.
The transaction is more than a venture investment. It links Extended with Zengo, the self-custody wallet eToro acquired earlier this year, giving the brokerage another building block as it expands into blockchain-based trading services. The move comes as brokerages increasingly compete on wallet technology, tokenized assets and decentralized execution instead of relying solely on centralized exchanges.
eToro leads a strategic investment in Extended@eToro is now a strategic investor in Extended. The investment round also marks the beginning of a partnership between Extended and @Zengo, a self-custody wallet recently acquired by eToro. The partnership will focus on expanding… pic.twitter.com/WZRDQq3Sqw
— Extended (@extendedapp) July 2, 2026
Extended said the funding round also marks the start of a strategic partnership with Zengo, eToro’s recently acquired self-custody wallet. The companies plan to work together to expand access to global financial markets by combining self-custody technology with onchain trading infrastructure.
Brokerages are expanding beyond spot crypto trading
The latest investment reflects how digital brokerages are reshaping their crypto strategies. Over the past year, firms that traditionally focused on stock and cryptocurrency trading have begun investing in blockchain infrastructure that allows users to trade while maintaining custody of their assets. Rather than treating decentralized finance as a separate market, many are attempting to integrate onchain products into existing trading ecosystems.
For eToro, the Extended investment follows its acquisition of Zengo, whose multi-party computation (MPC) wallet technology eliminates traditional seed phrases while allowing users to retain control of their digital assets. Connecting that wallet with a derivatives platform gives the company an entry point into one of crypto’s fastest-growing trading segments.
Why perpetual futures matter
Extended focuses on perpetual futures, derivative contracts that have become one of the largest sources of trading volume across digital asset markets. Unlike conventional futures contracts, perpetuals do not expire, allowing traders to keep positions open indefinitely as long as margin requirements are maintained. Their popularity has helped decentralized exchanges capture a growing share of derivatives activity, challenging the dominance of centralized trading venues. Recent launches such as Kalshi Bitcoin perpetual futures also reflect growing demand for regulated and innovative derivatives products across the market.
Founded by former Revolut executives, Extended operates on StarkWare’s StarkEx scaling infrastructure and has built its platform around self-custodied trading. According to the company, it now supports more than 100 perpetual markets and plans to expand into spot trading and tokenized real-world assets.
Key developments
- Funding: $12.5 million strategic investment led by eToro.
- Other investor: Jump Crypto participated in the round.
- Strategic link: The investment accompanies a partnership between Extended and Zengo.
- Platform focus: Onchain perpetual futures built on StarkEx.
- Next phase: Expansion toward additional digital asset and tokenized asset markets.
Competitive pressure is reshaping brokerage strategies
The timing of the investment is notable. Competition among trading platforms has intensified as companies seek to combine traditional financial products with blockchain-based infrastructure. Recent product launches across the industry show brokerages increasingly moving into tokenized securities, perpetual futures, self-custody services and Automated Crypto Trading tools rather than limiting crypto offerings to spot trading.
That shift reflects broader changes in market structure. Decentralized derivatives platforms have matured significantly over the past two years, attracting both institutional capital and retail trading activity. Instead of building competing infrastructure from scratch, established financial platforms are increasingly investing in specialized providers.
Long-term infrastructure bet
The Extended investment also arrives after eToro reported a decline in crypto-related earnings during the first quarter of 2026 compared with the previous year. Despite softer trading income from digital assets, the brokerage has continued allocating capital toward blockchain infrastructure instead of reducing its exposure to the sector.
Rather than signaling a short-term push into speculative trading, the investment suggests eToro is positioning itself around the underlying infrastructure supporting digital markets. As tokenized assets, self-custody wallets and decentralized derivatives continue to develop, ownership of that infrastructure may become increasingly important for brokerages seeking to compete across both traditional finance and crypto markets.
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