By
Bena Ilyas
April 23rd, 2024
The Twitter-eToro stock-trading initiative is a milestone under Musk’s watch as the Tesla CEO strives to transform Twitter into a super-app.
Twitter is partnering with Israeli financial services facilitator eToro to bring stock trading to users of the social media giant. According to reports, starting today, Twitter users can buy and sell stocks and securities via eToro. The Twitter-eToro partnership is a rare deal for the microblogging platform’s owner Elon Musk since he assumed control last October. Furthermore, the collaboration between both companies underscores Musk’s intent to transform Twitter into a “super-app” that offers social media and financial services.
Commenting on the partnership in an interview, eToro chief executive officer Yoni Assia said:
“As we’ve grown over the past three years immensely, we’ve seen more and more of our users interact on Twitter [and] educate themselves about the markets. There is very high-quality content, real-time content on financial analysis of companies and what’s happening around the world. We believe this partnership will enable us to reach those new audiences [and] connect better the brands of Twitter and eToro.”
Furthermore, Assia also referenced Twitter’s overarching plans to become a super-app, saying:
“It will be exciting to see how Twitter focuses more on finance, and we hope to see our partnership expand even beyond this step.”
Other Takeaways from Twitter-eToro Stock-Trading Initiative
The eToro partnership sees Twitter cashtags expanded to cover far more asset classes and instruments. Here, users can view market charts on various financial instruments and TradingView real-time trading data on index funds.
At the click of a button, Twitter users can also funnel through to eToro’s site, after which they can trade stocks. The Tel Aviv-based social trading and multi-asset investment company uses TradingView as its market data partner.
Established in 2007, eToro has more than 32 million registered users across Asia, Europe, and the United States. The platform’s CEO described the Twitter collaboration as an “intersection of finance and social media.” Assia reportedly did not have any direct contact with Musk during discussions. However, the eToro CEO claimed he worked with the same social media team on the stock market data tool as he did on previous partnerships with the company.
Assia also joked that having met Bernard Arnault and Warren Buffett, a meeting with the Tesla CEO was inevitable.
Twitter So Far Under Musk’s Management
Musk’s time as owner of Twitter has been characterized by several unpopular choices. These include downsizing the company’s staff force and microfinancing several aspects of its services – including proposing paid verified accounts. However, the outspoken billionaire justified his decisions as strictly business-driven and an attempt to cut costs and boost profitability.
Despite Musk’s best efforts to enhance Twitter’s brand, the social media company has lost chunks of advertising revenue. Many of these fleeing advertisers fear that Twitter’s operational overhaul would severely impact its content moderation standards.
On Wednesday, Musk claimed that most advertisers had returned to the platform. However, notable exceptions include Volkswagen and Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), who do not plan to resume yet.