TLDRs;
- eToro led a $12.5 million funding round for decentralized perpetual futures platform Extended.
- The investment supports integration of Extended’s trading engine into eToro’s newly acquired Zengo wallet.
- Extended offers on-chain perpetual futures, spot trading, lending, and cross-asset collateral on Starknet.
- The deal highlights growing competition among brokerages expanding into blockchain-based financial services.
The funding round also attracted participation from Jump Crypto and Alber Blanc, underscoring growing institutional interest in decentralized trading infrastructure. The investment comes as traditional brokerage firms increasingly explore blockchain technology to expand their digital asset offerings beyond spot cryptocurrency trading.
For eToro, the move represents another step in its long-term strategy of blending conventional financial services with decentralized technologies.
Extended Expands Trading Infrastructure
Extended operates as a decentralized perpetual futures exchange built on Starknet, an Ethereum Layer-2 scaling network designed to improve transaction speed while reducing costs.
Unlike many decentralized exchanges that focus solely on derivatives, Extended offers a broader ecosystem. The platform supports cross-asset collateral, allowing traders to use different assets as margin, while also integrating spot trading and lending markets into a single decentralized environment.
This approach aims to simplify the trading experience by giving users access to multiple financial services without leaving the platform.
Perpetual futures have become one of the fastest-growing segments of the crypto market because they allow traders to speculate on price movements without expiration dates, often using leverage to amplify positions.
By investing in Extended, eToro gains exposure to infrastructure that could play a significant role in the next generation of decentralized financial products.
Zengo Acquisition Strengthens Strategy
The investment follows another major blockchain initiative announced earlier this year.
In April, eToro agreed to acquire self-custody wallet provider Zengo in a deal valued at approximately $70 million. That acquisition is expected to serve as a foundation for eToro’s broader blockchain ambitions.
According to the company, Extended’s perpetual futures technology will eventually be integrated into the Zengo wallet, allowing users to access decentralized derivatives directly from a self-custody platform.
The combination could provide users with greater control over their assets while expanding access to advanced trading products without relying entirely on centralized exchanges.
eToro has said that integrating Zengo into its ecosystem will help bridge the gap between traditional investing and on-chain financial services, supporting products such as tokenized assets, decentralized trading, and perpetual futures.
The strategy reflects a growing industry trend toward combining self-custody with institutional-grade trading tools.
Competition Across Digital Finance
eToro’s latest investment comes as competition intensifies among fintech companies seeking to establish leadership in blockchain-based financial services.
Several major platforms have been expanding their crypto offerings beyond simple buying and selling. Brokerages are increasingly exploring tokenized securities, decentralized finance (DeFi), and blockchain settlement systems as demand for digital assets evolves.
One notable example is Robinhood Europe, which has introduced blockchain-recorded stock tokens alongside perpetual futures trading, highlighting the industry’s shift toward tokenized financial products.
Rather than competing solely on cryptocurrency access, companies are now investing in the infrastructure powering decentralized markets.
For eToro, supporting Extended provides an opportunity to participate in this transformation while strengthening its own ecosystem through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.
If integration with Zengo proceeds as planned, users could eventually gain seamless access to decentralized perpetual futures within a self-custody wallet, combining security, ownership, and advanced trading capabilities.
The investment also signals growing confidence that blockchain infrastructure is maturing beyond speculative trading into a broader financial ecosystem capable of supporting multiple asset classes and institutional participation.
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