eToro: Germany boss leaves trading platform

Dennis Austinat is giving up his position as head of Germany at the online broker eToro. Nothing is known about the exact reasons. FinanceFWD reported first about the exit.

In 2016, Austinat took over management of the businesses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He expanded the location and, among other things, introduced trading in cryptocurrencies. The broker now offers 16 different coins and tokens. According to the company, the Israel-based broker now has almost 30 million customers – an estimated two million of them in Germany.

Austinat’s departure is sudden, but not surprising given eToro’s mounting problems. In 2022, several important personalities left the company, as BTC-ECHO learned from company circles. Among other things, the former manager Michael Wild left in January and was hired as Germany boss at Binance. The responsible money laundering officers of the company followed in March and May. Shortly thereafter, the replacement of the position also threw out. In addition, the heads of the risk and marketing departments went. According to insiders, the entire money laundering department is said to have gone by now. Customer service will carry out the risk assessment. In general, there is currently a “toxic working environment” at the German site, the sources told BTC-ECHO.

Layoffs due to SPEC deal collapse

In general, the broker seems to be heading more and more towards turbulent times. According to FinanceFWD, the downloads of the trading app in Germany are said to have stagnated recently. Apart from that, eToro laid off 100 employees due to the tense market situation. A takeover deal fell through at the last second because the US Securities and Exchange Commission vetoed it. The deal should bring the company’s valuation to $10 billion.