EToro has taken a strategic stake in Extended, an onchain perpetual futures exchange, marking the trading platform's latest move into decentralized finance. The investment also kicks off a partnership between Extended and Zengo, the self-custody wallet eToro acquired earlier this year. Extended announced the deal on X.
What Extended brings to the table
Extended operates as a perpetual futures exchange built on blockchain rails. Perpetual futures are a type of derivative contract that lets traders speculate on the price of an asset without an expiry date. By running onchain, Extended aims to offer transparency and self-custody — users keep control of their funds rather than handing them over to a centralized exchange. The platform is still early-stage, and the exact terms of eToro's investment were not disclosed.
Why Zengo is part of the picture
The funding round doubles as the start of a collaboration between Extended and Zengo, the self-custody wallet eToro bought earlier this year. Zengo uses multi-party computation technology to secure private keys, meaning no single seed phrase exists to be stolen. For Extended, integrating with Zengo could give traders a way to access perpetual futures directly from a wallet that eToro already owns. For eToro, it's a chance to tie its recent acquisition into a growing DeFi ecosystem.
eToro's crypto strategy takes shape
EToro has been expanding its crypto footprint for years. The platform already lets users buy and sell digital assets alongside stocks and ETFs. Acquiring Zengo earlier this year signaled a push toward self-custody — a feature many crypto traders demand. Now, with the Extended investment, eToro is backing an onchain derivatives venue. The move suggests the company sees demand for decentralized trading products among its user base, though it hasn't said whether Extended will be integrated directly into the eToro app.
The announcement on X was brief. Extended said the partnership with Zengo would start immediately, but gave no timeline for product launches or specific features. Neither eToro nor Zengo have issued a separate statement.
For now, the deal remains a strategic bet. Onchain perpetual exchanges face stiff competition from centralized giants like Binance and Bybit, which dominate the derivatives market. But they also offer a different value proposition — no KYC, no withdrawal limits, and full control of funds. Whether eToro's users will embrace that model, or whether regulators will take a closer look, are open questions.
