Midas raised $45 million in a Series A round led by Portage in April 2024, with participation from International Finance Corporation (IFC), Spark Capital, Earlybird Digital East Fund, and Revo Capital. This followed an $11 million seed round in February 2022 led by Spark Capital and Earlybird Digital East Fund, bringing total funding to approximately $56 million.

The Series A round included participation from IFC, reflecting institutional interest in Midas's expansion into emerging markets. Spark Capital and Earlybird Digital East Fund have participated in multiple rounds, while angel investor Nigel Morris contributed during earlier funding stages.

Midas is a mobile-first retail investment platform designed for Turkish retail investors to trade both local and US equities through a single app. Users can access over 10,000 US stocks and ETFs from NASDAQ and NYSE, as well as all Borsa Istanbul equities and ETFs. Fractional US shares are available starting at $1.

The onboarding process takes less than 10 minutes, requiring users to scan their Turkish ID and take a selfie to meet KYC compliance standards set by the Turkish Capital Markets Board.

Accounts can be funded in Turkish lira or USD, with automatic currency conversion applied at interbank rates plus a 0.4% spread for lira deposits. The app includes a feed of stock cards with live prices, news, and market movement explanations, created by a 25-person content team.

In addition to trading, Midas offers financial services such as crypto trading, a domestic mutual fund marketplace, and a high-yield savings product backed by government bonds. Features include Midas+ for dollar-cost averaging, Vault for parking idle Turkish lira at variable yields, and portfolio health monitoring tools that assess concentration and FX exposure.

Midas operates a vertically integrated B2C brokerage model with self-clearing capabilities for both Turkish and US markets, an infrastructure setup that is uncommon among emerging market neo-brokers. The company uses its proprietary order management system to route US trades through its Alpaca clearing partnership, while Turkish equities are handled via direct exchange membership.

The monetization strategy employs a combination of flat-fee and percentage-based commission structures, reducing costs by 95-98% compared to traditional Turkish brokers.

For US trades, Midas charges a fixed $1.50 per transaction regardless of size, while Turkish equity trades are commission-free. Additional revenue is generated through FX spreads on currency conversion, with users charged approximately 0.4% above interbank rates when depositing Turkish lira.

Midas's vertical integration includes custody and settlement, enabling cost control and a streamlined user experience while supporting multiple revenue streams. The introduction of savings accounts creates opportunities for net interest income by allocating idle cash into Turkish government securities, which currently yield around 28%. This treasury monetization approach aligns with fintech models where deposit products contribute higher-margin revenue compared to transaction fees.

Midas competes with mobile-first brokers pursuing vertical integration strategies. Traditional bank-owned brokers such as İş Yatırım, Garanti BBVA Yatırım, and Yapı Kredi Invest offer full-service research capabilities but charge commissions ranging from 0.20% to 0.35% and rely on legacy desktop interfaces.

These factors make them susceptible to mobile-focused disruption. While these incumbents are losing younger users to app-based platforms, they maintain advantages in institutional relationships and regulatory expertise.

A key competitive challenge comes from established fintech platforms entering the equities market. Papara, which has 20 million wallet users, introduced $1-minimum US stock trading in October 2024 through a partnership with DriveWealth.

This launch leveraged a 600,000-person waitlist and cross-subsidized equity fees using its payments float. Colendi, which holds a digital banking license, serves 15 million users, and raised $65 million in Series B funding, plans to launch US equities trading in Q4 2025, also via DriveWealth.

These super-apps leverage existing customer bases and payment infrastructure to offer competitive pricing while bundling investment services with cards, remittances, and lending products.

International brokers are tailoring their platforms for Turkish users, increasing competitive pressure. eToro introduced Turkish language support and TRY deposits in 2024 but charges 1% FX spreads and does not provide access to local BIST shares.

Trading 212 re-entered the market with zero-commission US and BIST CFDs but faces marketing challenges due to prior regulatory issues. Interactive Brokers and MEXEM offer advanced trading tools at lower raw costs but lack the streamlined mobile experience that resonates with retail investors.

Midas is expanding its offerings beyond equities to include crypto trading, mutual funds, and savings products, aiming to capture a larger share of Turkish retail financial services. The crypto initiative targets Turkey's high retail adoption rate, where over 50% of adults have engaged with cryptocurrency.

Introducing low-cost index funds and interest-bearing cash accounts positions Midas to compete in wealth management, addressing an estimated $100 billion in high-interest account deposits currently held by Turkish banks.

Currently, only 5% of Turkey's 80 million population owns equities, indicating significant growth potential as Midas scales from 2 million to its target of 5 million users. The platform's educational content strategy, which includes podcasts and daily market videos, focuses on Gen Z investors expected to inherit substantial real estate wealth over the next decade.

By offering savings and fund products, Midas aims to attract a portion of the 40 million Turks who currently hold high-interest bank accounts.

Management has outlined plans to expand into MENA markets, where retail trading penetration remains below 10%. Gulf markets, which share cultural and language similarities with Turkey, present opportunities to address infrastructure gaps using Midas's self-clearing technology.

The company's vertically integrated stack is designed for replication in markets like Indonesia and Pakistan, where broker-tech infrastructure remains underdeveloped, resembling Turkey's conditions in 2021.

Regulatory constraints: Turkish capital markets are subject to ongoing regulatory scrutiny regarding foreign exchange transactions and cross-border investment flows. Adjustments to currency conversion rules or restrictions on international equity purchases could materially affect Midas's US trading revenue, which constitutes a significant share of platform activity and higher-margin transactions.

Super-app competition: Established fintech platforms such as Papara and Colendi have large existing user bases, integrated payment infrastructure, and cross-subsidization capabilities that may challenge Midas's specialized approach. These competitors can provide investment services at a loss while generating revenue through higher-margin payment and lending products, potentially leading to unsustainable price competition.

Infrastructure dependence: Although Midas has self-clearing capabilities, it remains reliant on partnerships like Alpaca for US market access and various third-party providers for custody and settlement. Disruptions to these partnerships or changes in partner pricing could compress margins and degrade service quality. Developing fully independent infrastructure would require significant additional capital investment.