Key Takeaways
- • eToro leads $12.5M strategic funding round in Extended, an onchain perpetual futures exchange, alongside Jump Crypto as co-investor, signaling institutional-grade capital deployment into decentralized derivatives infrastructure.
- • Extended-Zengo partnership bridges self-custody with onchain trading: eToro's April 2026 acquisition of Zengo wallet (featuring multi-party computation technology) now integrates with Extended's perps platform to connect traditional financial assets with decentralized venues.
- • Extended operates on StarkWare's StarkEx scaling engine and launched publicly in late 2024; the platform plans unified margin functionality with technical support from StarkWare, addressing liquidity and leverage requirements for institutional participation.
- • Reflects broader broker pivot toward decentralized derivatives: Major trading platforms are repositioning toward self-custody, tokenized assets, and onchain execution as perp DEX adoption accelerates, reducing dependence on centralized custody models.
- • Capital deployment targets infrastructure gap: The $12.5M investment directly addresses market demand for compliant, institutional-grade onchain perps access, positioning eToro to capture users seeking alternatives to traditional margin trading venues.
Summary
eToro has deployed capital into Extended, a decentralized exchange specializing in onchain perpetual futures, through a $12.5 million strategic funding round announced July 2, 2026. Jump Crypto participated alongside eToro as co-investor. The transaction reflects accelerating institutional interest in decentralized derivatives infrastructure and self-custody trading solutions, marking a shift away from traditional centralized exchange models toward blockchain-native execution.
The funding round is operationally tied to Extended's partnership with Zengo, a self-custody wallet acquired by eToro on April 30, 2026. Zengo employs multi-party computation (MPC) technology, eliminating reliance on seed phrases while preserving user asset custody and control. The wallet supports token swaps, staking, and decentralized application access. Through this integration, eToro plans to connect traditional financial products with onchain infrastructure, creating a hybrid access layer for users seeking exposure to global markets through decentralized venues.
Extended, founded by former Revolut employees, opened public trading in late 2024 and operates on StarkWare's StarkEx scaling engine. The platform has announced plans to implement unified margin functionality with technical support from StarkWare, addressing key friction points in onchain derivatives adoption. The architecture is designed to support institutional participation requirements, including efficient collateral management and leverage capacity.
The transaction underscores a strategic industry pivot among major brokerages toward decentralized derivatives and self-custody products. Rather than competing solely within traditional margin trading environments, platforms are repositioning to capture users migrating toward tokenized assets and onchain execution. eToro's $12.5M commitment to Extended signals confidence that perp DEX growth will sustain institutional demand, particularly among investors seeking alternatives to centralized custody models and seeking exposure to onchain market infrastructure.
The funding round is operationally tied to Extended's partnership with Zengo, a self-custody wallet acquired by eToro on April 30, 2026. Zengo employs multi-party computation (MPC) technology, eliminating reliance on seed phrases while preserving user asset custody and control. The wallet supports token swaps, staking, and decentralized application access. Through this integration, eToro plans to connect traditional financial products with onchain infrastructure, creating a hybrid access layer for users seeking exposure to global markets through decentralized venues.
Extended, founded by former Revolut employees, opened public trading in late 2024 and operates on StarkWare's StarkEx scaling engine. The platform has announced plans to implement unified margin functionality with technical support from StarkWare, addressing key friction points in onchain derivatives adoption. The architecture is designed to support institutional participation requirements, including efficient collateral management and leverage capacity.
The transaction underscores a strategic industry pivot among major brokerages toward decentralized derivatives and self-custody products. Rather than competing solely within traditional margin trading environments, platforms are repositioning to capture users migrating toward tokenized assets and onchain execution. eToro's $12.5M commitment to Extended signals confidence that perp DEX growth will sustain institutional demand, particularly among investors seeking alternatives to centralized custody models and seeking exposure to onchain market infrastructure.
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