eToro founder timed Bitcoin top perfectly due to belief in 4 year cycles

eToro co-founder Yoni Assia timed the top of Bitcoin almost perfectly because he didn’t buy the growing narrative that Bitcoin’s four-year cycle was dead.

“I hate to sell Bitcoin, but I sold a bit on the 6th of October, I think, at $126,000. I then bought at $110, at $105, at $100,” Assia tells Cointelegraph at Paris Blockchain Week.

Just a day before Assia sold off some Bitcoin, the asset reached a new all-time high of $126,100 on Oct. 5, only to be followed by a $19 billion liquidation event on Oct. 10 that triggered a broader crypto market downturn. 

The market has yet to fully recover from the brutal liquidation event, with Bitcoin falling to around $60,000 in early February before recovering to around $77,700 at the time of publication.

Bitcoin’s October all-time high timing aligned with previous four-year cycle peaks, while price action so far in 2026 has echoed the downturns seen after prior cycle tops.

Bitcoin’s four-year cycle is a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” says Assia

When asked whether he thinks the four-year cycle is still relevant, the 45-year-old said it is “a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.” 

Many in the crypto industry have been debating whether Bitcoin’s four-year cycle still holds up, especially with institutional inflows and Bitcoin ETFs now playing a much bigger role than in previous cycles.

Into The Cryptoverse founder Benjamin Cowen told Magazine in March that the “four-year cycle is dead theory” was wrong and he didn’t understand “why people keep saying it’s not the thing.”

Assia said that those who have been in the industry longer tend to be more “cautious” about the idea that this time is different, adding that this is his fourth market cycle.

Assia says the sideways price movement in the crypto market has pushed traders on eToro to “chase volatility” in other markets, moving beyond crypto-native stocks into traditional assets.

“I think we’re now seeing them gain interest in new assets as well, such as gold, silver, and oil,” he says.

Who is Yoni Assia?

Assia was born in Israel in 1981 and is now based in Cyprus. He co-founded the social trading platform eToro in 2007, alongside his brother, Ronen Assia, and David Ring.

Before launching eToro, Assia founded CDRide in 2003, a theme park thrill ride video technology company that delivered wireless video solutions for commercial use.

He holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Computer Science, which may help explain his early interest and decision to bring Bitcoin to the eToro platform in 2013, when it was trading at around $1,000.

Assia has been a long-time crypto advocate. By 2017, eToro began expanding into other cryptocurrencies further down the risk curve. In 2018, it launched eToroX, a regulated crypto exchange.

Assia says downturn means opportunity to buy more companies

Assia said the prolonged crypto market downturn has him scouting opportunities to acquire new crypto firms.

“We have a billion and a half dollars on a balance sheet on a public company,” Assia said.

“This is an opportunity maybe for the market to consolidate,” he said, pointing to eToro’s acquisition of self-custodial crypto wallet provider Zengo, and hinted at a “couple more coming soon in the pipeline.”

“Basically, you know, build stronger, bigger companies by joining forces with great product teams and great founders,” he says.

“Great companies have always known that when crypto markets are down is the time to build and bid, and great companies always emerge stronger from these cycles,” he says.

It echoes a sentiment shared by Bullish CEO Tom Farley, who said in February that the crypto industry is likely to see more projects snapped up by larger companies, which may lead to a much less fragmented sector in the months ahead.  

“I was in the exchange sector during continual massive consolidation…the same thing is going to happen starting right now in crypto,” Farley said during a CNBC interview.

Assia says he is a “crypto conservative”

Assia said the biggest mistake everyday investors make when entering crypto is venturing too far down the risk curve without prioritizing Bitcoin first.

“They’re not first and foremost buying Bitcoin, right. Bitcoin is the king of crypto. People sometimes forget about it during cycles, sort of go all in on alts,” Assia says.

“That’s a mistake,” he says. “I think people should stack Bitcoin. People need to hold the queens of crypto…whether it’s Solana, Ethereum or XRP.”

Assia declined to offer a specific forecast for Bitcoin’s price in 2026 but said he expects it to reach $250,000 by 2030, a more conservative view compared with the $1 million targets floated by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood over the same period.

“I’m a crypto conservative,” he laughs.

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Ciaran Lyons

Ciaran Lyons is a Cointelegraph staff writer covering cryptocurrency markets and conducting interviews within the digital asset industry. He has a background in mainstream media and has previously worked in Australian broadcast journalism, including roles in national radio and television. Prior to joining Cointelegraph, Lyons was involved in media projects across news, documentary, and entertainment formats. He holds Solana, Ski Mask Dog, and AI Rig Complex above Cointelegraph’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.