eToro was founded 12 years ago making it perhaps the oldest and biggest online exchange market. It is ranked as the top trading network and top online forex broker by almost any agency. All that fame and glory translates perfectly into the crypto world where eToro has perhaps the biggest chunk of active users of all other crypto exchanges rounding up at more than one million. Apart from that it operates in more than 170 countries and has more than 9 million total trading users and has 5 thousand new accounts created each day. Its biggest downfall is that it is not currently active in the US, although US-based customers have been getting around this prohibition with a VPN. In this review we will try to show you all there is to know about the setting up process in eToro, how easy it is to use it, and what are the most notable pros and cons about this site.
If you want to check out the rest of our top 5 places to buy or sell cryptocurrencies, check out our full Guide on the topic which also has tons of useful tips in it. Now, let’s dive deeper into the very nature of this exchange market.
Features That Make eToro Stand Out
First off, let’s start with tho can use this platform. As we mentioned, there are 170 countries in which eToro works. From the bigger countries, the USA is the only one not present on that huge list which is easily worked around with a good VPN service. Just like Bitpanda, all of Europe’s countries can use this service without an issue.
In terms of cryptocurrencies you can choose from, eToro is fairly limited, as some other markets are such as Local Bitcoins. This is mainly due to the fact that eToro focuses on all currencies and not crypto ones in general, making it not so crypto-specific. You can get the following ones here:
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- BTC cash
- ETH Classic
- Litecoin
- Ripple
Sure, those aren’t every crypto coin you can think of but you will be surprised as to how much of a user base those few ones cover. Basically, 90% of the people who are into crypto trading are interested in those listed coins and this is why eToro is having them only and not wasting too much energy on all the other little and suspicious ones.
Depositing And Withdrawing
There are tons of ways to deposit on eToro and each way has its limitations and minimum deposit amounts. There are wire transfers here, which is quite unusual for the online exchange market world. Furthermore, you can do bank transfers, use Visa or Mastercard, Neteller, Yandex, Webmoney UK, Skrill, and many others.
One of the best things (for most people) is that you can even deposit money with PayPal. This on its own is a feature that attracts tons of people due to the safe environment it creates for your funds.
Pro Tip: Before depositing try your different strategies with the free 100 000$ credit you get as a sign-up bonus. They aren’t real money but you can see how everything works by using them for a while. If they burn out you can contact support and get some more to train with.
Receiving money happens in the opposite way. You can get them via paypal (most often), or in your bank account or credit/debit card. Withdrawing money requires a signature, colored passport copy, and proof of your address.
Is There A Trade Minimum?
eToro tries to fit everyone’s needs and requirements and caters for traders of all financial levels. Specifically for cryptocurrencies you have to put at least 25$, whereas for stocks it is double that. For ETFs and indices that number is 200$.
For those who have registered after the beginning of 2017, there is a special system which calculates the minimum trade depending on your exposure using leverages.
Now, let’s take a look at one of the most important aspects for many people.
Safety
In terms of security there is no other place like eToro. The company follows the FCA and CySEC guidelines and has protocols strong enough to deter even the most ambitious hackers. There have been zero hacking reports for that exchange market from the date of its creation.
Furthermore, there are means of protecting your own funds as well such as risk-management features for beginners. Your funds stay in Tier 1 European banks making them as secure as they can be once put online.
Still, never forget that cryptocurrencies aren’t regulated and there are no insurances for crypto-related investments, as well as no forms of compensation methods available.
In terms of support, eToro has been widely known for resolving all of its issues in a great manner, both on its support platform and throughout its social media pages. There are live and email support options available and the email ones usually don’t take more than a business day to get replied to.
Other Tools eToro Gives You
eToro’s primary goal is to educate you as an investor and give you all the necessary tools to trade with confidence. Still, a downside is that everything here is geared more towards the traditional trading assets and not cryptocurrencies. From our experience, users who join to trade with crypto end up trading with other currencies or assets such as gold, oil, etc.
When you register you will be given a hundred dollars as a free credit to use and train and work out your own strategies to earn money. eToro also gives you calendars to sync with your trading and daily market analyses, overviews, and news. That will help you with your first steps and is something that other exchange markets lack.
Registering And Verifying Your Account
As it is everywhere, the registering process here is a straightforward one. All you need to start is an email and a password. That will create your account after you verify the email address. For further verification levels and to be able to withdraw money you will have to provide additional information such as name, country, official documents, payment method, etc.
So, What Sets It Apart?
Well, the simple and short answer to this question is the tons of available options you have both in terms of learning and in terms of trading. There are hundreds of assets you can choose to invest in apart from cryptocurrencies and it all feels like a Wall Street office where you are provided all the information through various charts and just have to make the right calls to become rich.
Other than that, the social aspect of this site is incredible. There are millions of followers of eToro throughout all its social media. You can learn from the experience of others who have struck gold and thanks to the “CopyFunds” options in eToro you can literally copy the successful investment strategy of a famous trader. The big online community provides tons of insight daily on Reddit and all sorts of other forums and sites.
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Now, let’s take a look at some of the notable pros and cons of eToro and see the reason why people love it so much.
Advantages
- Incredible availability of informational resources and assets
- Easy to navigate through
- Easy to register and verify your account
- Has mobile apps which allows you to trade anywhere you go
- The support staff is great at its job and responds quickly
- The online community helps with issues and investing strategies
- Tons of daily news, insights, and previews of the stock market
- A whole constellation of trading tools available to you if you need them
- Works in more than 170 countries
Disadvantages
- Few cryptocurrency options (but the most important ones)
- Fees can feel a little high for most beginners
- Doesn’t work in the USA unless accessed through a VPN
As a whole, eToro has already made a name for itself as one of the best places to invest your money online. The tons of asset options, many tools, great security, and different deposit and withdrawal options make it a very easy place for a beginner to start trading. Furthermore, there is an excess of learning materials which you can use to take your trading game to the next level. When it comes to crypto trading, there is no safer place to start at. We gave eToro a score of four and a half out of five stars.