eToro CEO: Navigating the Bear Market and the Road to $250K Bitcoin

19 April 2026 | 14:49

At Paris Blockchain Week, eToro CEO Yoni Assia provided a candid assessment of the current crypto landscape, officially labeling the current period a bear market while maintaining a bullish long-term outlook. Assia argues that while the short-term is painful, the structural evolution of markets toward a 24/7, tokenized future remains inevitable.

Key Takeaways:

• Bear Market Reality: Assia confirms we are in a bear cycle; the recovery timeline remains uncertain.
• The Cycle Prophecy: The four-year cycle persists as a self-fulfilling psychological and mechanical phenomenon.
• 2030 Price Target: A "conservative" $250,000 Bitcoin by 2030, driven by scarcity and institutional demand.
• The $100 Trillion Shift: Regulatory hurdles are the only barrier to moving massive real-world asset (RWA) value on-chain.
• 24/7 Market Magnet: Crypto is already forcing traditional stocks to trade around the clock.
• Strategic Patience: Bear markets are designated for building; Assia himself has been accumulating through the dip.

Calling the Bear Market

In an industry often dominated by relentless optimism, Yoni Assia’s directness is notable. "We are in a bear market," he stated plainly, noting that the current slowdown may last at least another quarter before an accumulation phase begins.

Assia speaks from experience, having navigated four major cycles. He shared that he sold a portion of his Bitcoin at the October 2025 all-time high of $126,000 but began buying back at $110,000 and $100,000. His point? Even veterans get caught in the cycle’s psychological gravity, but the long-term thesis remains the compass for institutional-scale players.

The Self-Fulfilling Cycle

Assia describes the four-year cycle as a "self-fulfilling prophecy." Experienced traders become cautious as peaks approach, their selling triggers a downturn, and that downturn forces defensive moves from the rest of the market.

While some argue that ETFs and institutional capital have broken the cycle, Assia suggests they have merely "lengthened" it. This results in a market that is more grinding and less prone to the vertical "flash crashes" of 2018, but equally punishing for those waiting for a perfect entry signal.

The Vision: $100 Trillion On-Chain

Assia has championed tokenization since co-authoring the "Colored Coins" whitepaper in 2012. He believes it is inevitable that $100 trillion in real-world assets—including stocks, real estate, and commodities—will eventually migrate to blockchain infrastructure.

The bottleneck is no longer the technology; it is regulation and trust. Investors won't trade an apartment on-chain until the legal link between the token and the physical deed is ironclad. While he credits the U.S. for recent progress—such as the SEC clarifying that non-custodial wallets aren't broker-dealers—he warns that a hostile regulatory environment could still slow adoption, even if it cannot stop the underlying infrastructure.

The 24/7 Market Magnet

One of Assia’s most striking observations is that crypto is already acting as a "magnet" for traditional finance. Because stocks like Tesla and Meta are already trading on-chain 24/7, crypto markets are effectively discovering prices before traditional exchanges even open their doors.

This "always-on" expectation from Gen Z and Millennial investors is forcing legacy institutions to adapt. eToro has already moved toward 24/7 trading for assets like gold and oil, anticipating a world where the "opening bell" becomes a relic of the past.

The $250,000 Conservative Estimate

Assia’s price target for Bitcoin—$250,000 by 2030—is intentionally conservative compared to more aggressive industry forecasts. As the CEO of a platform with a 94% crypto revenue base and a multi-billion dollar balance sheet, his target is rooted in accountability.

The $250k thesis relies on:

1. Supply Dynamics: The continued impact of halving cycles.
2. Institutional Absorption: Sticky capital from ETFs and sovereign funds.
3. Tokenization Infrastructure: The reality that the rails built for $100 trillion in assets will naturally support Bitcoin as the premier collateral.

For Assia, the current dip is a structural reset. By deploying eToro’s balance sheet during this period, he is signaling that the "bear market" is not a time to retreat, but the essential window for building the next era of global finance.