Midas

Midas is a Turkish retail investment platform that consolidates access to multiple financial markets into a single regulated mobile application. Operated by Midas Menkul Değerler A.Ş. and founded in 2020 by Egem Eraslan and Umut Bozkurt, the company launched publicly in 2021 with a mission to make investing accessible and affordable for the Turkish market. As of mid-2025, Midas serves more than 3.5 million investors and has reached a valuation of approximately $1 billion, making it Turkey's first fintech unicorn in the brokerage space.

The Problem Midas Addresses

Turkish retail investors historically faced a fragmented brokerage landscape. Accessing US equities required a separate account with a foreign broker; BIST (Borsa Istanbul) trading meant another domestic account; investment funds and crypto were handled through yet more providers. This friction, combined with high commission structures, kept many retail participants locked out of diversified investing. Midas was built to collapse all of these into one experience while dramatically reducing costs.

Core Product and How It Works

At its core, Midas is a mobile-first brokerage that provides Turkish retail investors with a single account through which they can trade across asset classes. The account opening process is designed to be completed within minutes using Turkish national ID verification.

The platform operates on a vertically integrated model. Rather than relying on third-party clearing and custody infrastructure — which adds cost layers for competitors — Midas built its own, allowing it to pass savings to users through lower fees. Turkish equity trading on Borsa Istanbul carries zero commission. US market trades are priced at a flat $1.50 per transaction, a rate the company cut by 90% ahead of its Series B. The company reported that by mid-2025, its fee structure had saved its user base nearly $50 million in total transaction costs relative to industry benchmarks.

Asset Classes Supported

Midas spans five categories of investable assets:

Turkish equities and warrants: BIST-listed shares, including widely-held names such as THY, Turkcell, and BİM, alongside warrants traded on the Istanbul exchange.

US equities and ETFs: Stocks listed on NYSE and NASDAQ, giving Turkish investors exposure to companies like Apple, Tesla, and Google without requiring a separate foreign brokerage account.

European equities: Shares in European companies including Siemens and BMW.

TEFAS mutual funds: Turkey's unified fund distribution platform hosts hundreds of funds across thematic categories including technology, gold, and blockchain. Midas provides direct access to these funds from within the app.

Cryptocurrencies: Midas offers trading in more than 25 digital assets through an integrated crypto module. This is operated under a separate application, Midas Kripto, on mobile platforms, reflecting different regulatory treatment for crypto assets in Turkey.

Tools and Analytics

Beyond order execution, Midas provides retail users with analytical tools typically associated with professional terminals. These include technical analysis charting, stock screening tools, expert-curated watchlists, and market sentiment indicators. The platform has introduced AI-generated research summaries, providing users with automated analysis on equities and market conditions. A premium tier, Midas Pro, targets active traders who want deeper analytics and advanced order types.

Regulatory and Custody Framework

Midas Menkul Değerler A.Ş. holds a license from Turkey's Capital Markets Board (SPK — Sermaye Piyasası Kurulu) and operates under Turkish capital markets law and MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board) regulations.

For BIST assets, investor holdings are safeguarded through the MKK (Central Registry Agency of Turkey), the country's central securities depository. For US market holdings, accounts carry SIPC insurance coverage of up to $150 million, providing investors with protection in the event of broker insolvency. The company announced plans to further strengthen its security infrastructure as part of its 2025 expansion roadmap.

Funding History and Investors

Midas has raised over $140 million across three rounds:

• Seed round (February 2022): $11 million led by Spark Capital
• Series A (April 2024): $45 million led by Portage Ventures, with participation from Bek Ventures and Revo Ventures
• Series B (August 2025): $80 million led by QED Investors, with new participation from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), HSG (formerly Sequoia China), QuantumLight (founded by Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky), and Spice Expeditions LP

The Series B was the largest single fintech investment ever secured by a Turkish company. QED Investors, the lead backer, has a portfolio that includes Nubank, Credit Karma, and Coinbase.

Team and Background

CEO Egem Eraslan, a software engineer by background, founded Midas in March 2020 after observing the difficulty Turkish retail savers faced in accessing global financial markets affordably. Co-founder Umut Bozkurt joined at inception. The company is headquartered in Istanbul.

Product Roadmap

Following the Series B, Midas outlined a product expansion into derivatives. US options trading was scheduled to launch in September 2025, with Turkish equity options to follow. The company has also announced plans for robo-advisory portfolios, pension account products, and dollar-denominated money market funds — the latter designed to give Turkish savers a hedge against lira volatility. In mid-2026, the company filed for a payments license in Turkey, signaling an intention to move beyond brokerage into the broader digital finance stack.

Ecosystem Context

Midas is not a blockchain-native or DeFi protocol. It is a regulated broker that includes cryptocurrency as one of several tradable asset classes alongside equities and mutual funds. The platform operates through a centralized custody and settlement model consistent with traditional brokerage. Its inclusion of digital assets — including over 25 cryptocurrencies via Midas Kripto — positions it as a consumer-facing on-ramp for crypto exposure for Turkish retail investors within a regulated, insured framework, rather than as a decentralized finance application.