When I discovered bitcoin in 2010, it signified to me a simple but powerful concept: markets that never sleep.
For most of modern financial history, markets have operated within fixed trading windows. Access was dictated by geography and exchange hours. If something happened on Friday evening, investors had to wait until Monday morning to respond.
Crypto changed that dynamic. As an avid participant in crypto markets, I can trade 24/7 wherever I am in the world. I can act on market news the moment it breaks. Crypto made me see that it doesn’t make sense for markets to stick to timetables set decades ago, when today the economy never rests.
This realisation has shaped many of our decisions at eToro.
In 2025 we introduced 24/5 trading for all S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 stocks, and saw an impressive level of engagement globally from our users who could now trade these assets at their convenience. Off the back of this momentum, this quarter we launched 24/7 trading for gold and now oil, with more assets to follow soon.
I believe this move puts us at the forefront of something revolutionary: progress towards a tokenized future.
Capital markets are evolving
Over the years, as crypto entered the mainstream, investor expectations changed.
At eToro, we’ve seen a whole generation of users who first came to us to trade crypto gradually diversify into other asset classes as they started investing for the long term. But their mindset remains shaped by always-on markets. They ask a simple question: if information flows 24/7, why shouldn’t trading?
Retail participation in financial markets continues to grow globally. Younger generations are entering markets earlier and expecting the same flexibility they experience in messaging, shopping and banking. Investing should be no different.
Technology is now making that possible. Electronic communication networks, improved automation, and evolving settlement infrastructure allows exchanges, brokers and investors to connect at any time. Major stock exchanges are exploring extended hours trading and we are seeing regulators engage more deeply with the financial infrastructure needed to support this.
Opening global markets is not just about access to more asset classes, lowering fees or simplifying interfaces. It’s also about removing artificial time-based restrictions too.
A stepping stone to tokenization
Extended hours trading is a meaningful step in opening the global markets. Moving to 24/5 goes further. But true 24/7 accessibility will ultimately come through tokenization.
Tokenization offers something legacy markets do not currently deliver at scale: transparency, 24/7 access, global reach, immediate settlement, and fractional ownership. For retail investors, it means broader access, more flexibility, and the ability to build diversified portfolios with lower capital thresholds.
Over time, I expect more than $100 trillion in assets – stocks, commodities, real estate, artwork and more – will move on-chain. Crypto kicked off this process, and additional asset classes including stocks and even private markets will follow. It won’t happen overnight, and not without regulatory evolution, but gradually and inevitably.
Our goal is to ensure that as this shift happens, eToro is ready. Ready to support tokenized assets. Ready to integrate with on-chain infrastructure. Ready to connect traditional markets with decentralized systems.
By enabling 24/7 trading for assets like gold and oil, we are bridging the foundational assets underpinning the global economy with the always-on infrastructure pioneered by digital assets. We started with gold and oil, but we expect to expand this to even more assets in the near future. Crypto may have introduced the concept of 24/7 markets, but it will not be the last asset class to embrace it.