Although we have high standards for our writing, this post may mention the products of our partners. Here’s a look at how we make money. For investors, broker eToro can be a good choice, but you need to be optimistic about the long-term future of cryptocurrency.
This is because this broker is all time crypto for US traders. Non-Americans, on the other hand, can trade stocks for free. A social feed is built into the broker’s trading platform, and you can also copy trades from the most popular traders on the platform.
With reasonable spread prices and minimum trades, this is a good place for traders to start trading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. If you want to trade more securities, you can also check out Robinhood, which lets you trade stocks and options for free. Or, if you want a full-service online broker, you can check out Interactive Brokers, which lets you trade almost anything in the public markets.
Best for
- Trading in cryptocurrencies
- Looking at what other traders are doing.
- Investment in society
Features of CopyTrader
One of the best things about eToro is that you can instantly copy the trades of some of the broker’s best traders. With CopyTrader, you can select the traders you want to copy and then copy their trades instantly.
CopyTrader shows you how much other traders in the program have made in the past year, so you can choose who to follow. If you’re not ready to copy their trades, you can still keep up with them on their social feeds, see how they’ve done in the past month, and see what they own.
It combines social media and cryptocurrency trading to help traders connect. CopyTrader costs nothing extra, and as part of eToro’s Popular Investor Program, it pays the best traders. So that clients can sign up, get followers, and earn more money while trading.
Virtual trading
If you are new to crypto trading and want to try it out before going all out, eToro lets you set up a dummy account and trade with $100,000 in fake money. You can trade as if you were doing real by instantly switching to virtual trading. This is a nice addition that makes it easier for new investors to get started and find their way around the site.
Pros: eToro best features
Spread the prices.
Like Robinhood, eToro makes money from the difference between bids and prices, similar to other brokers that advertise commission-free trading. That is, it adds a layer of cost, so the financial action you see on your eToro screen may differ from the prices you see in the market.
This is a relatively common method of costing currency trades, and many crypto brokers are using it as well. So, brokers may say they don’t charge a commission, but they’re still getting paid in some other way.
The broker is doing a good job of clarifying their spread prices. Spreads for Bitcoin start at 0.75 percent. But eToro differs from other crypto brokers in a key way: it only charges the spread when you buy, not when you sell, so you don’t lose out on trades either way.
Those rates are better than those of some brokers, such as Coinbase, which take at least 1.99% of each trade, and fees can be higher for smaller trades. Prices go up from there on eToro, though. Common cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum cost 1.9 percent. At eToro, the most expensive type of crypto is priced at 4.5 percent.
While eToro’s spreads aren’t too bad, when compared to hard stock prices, the spread sticker prices on crypto trading are huge. Major online brokers do not charge spread markups or commissions from stock traders. You may need to find some of the best brokers to trade cryptocurrency with.
Account min
If you’re new to cryptocurrency trading, it won’t take long to get started on eToro. At least $50 must be in your first deposit. You must exchange at least $25 per transaction to get into the game.
Therefore, eToro can be used by any trader who wants to start trading cryptocurrencies. Still, the broker will start charging you a $10-per-month EFTPOS card if you don’t log into your account at least once every 12 months. If you have money in your account, don’t forget it.
Cons: Areas where eToro could do better.
tradable securities
If you’re an American and want to trade something other than cryptocurrency on eToro, you’re out of luck. While traders outside the US can trade stocks without paying commission, Americans can only trade cryptocurrencies, but there are 15.
You will be able to use 15 of the most popular cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, and more. Traders at Robinhood, a competitor, can only access seven cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, which is the most popular. So if you want something other than crypto, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
Trading platform
A typical broker may have a well-developed trading platform with many tools and charts to help analyze price action and predict where a security might trade. Or, you can place an order from the platform, which will immediately put your trade on the market.
But not so with eToro, where everything is simple and perhaps a little too much like a game. In eToro, the trading platform mostly consists of 15 buttons, for each cryptocurrency, that you can hit when you are ready to trade. You can quickly enter your trade-in dollar value, and then your order will be sent to the market.
So it is very easy to understand at this level. But if you click elsewhere on the tab for each cryptocurrency, you’ll be taken to its social media feed and you can see charts and other information that can help you make that decision. That’s how you want to trade. This trading platform is very different from other full-service brokers, such as Interactive Brokers, and even other brokers, such as Weibull, that allow crypto trading.
Helping customers
Although eToro’s website says customer service is open 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday, you shouldn’t be surprised if it takes longer than that to answer your urgent question. You can use live chat for the most important questions. For others, you may need to open a service ticket, and it may take up to 14 days for us to get back to you.
When business runs fast, it takes a long time. While you wait for your official response, a help page answers common questions. Like other new finance apps, this one doesn’t put customer service first. But you should know that before you go, you can’t expect full service.
Different types of accounts
In eToro, you don’t invest for the long term. Instead, you trade cryptocurrencies. So it should come as no surprise that the broker only offers a taxable account for an individual. There were no IRAs, joint accounts, custodial accounts, or any other types of accounts. This won’t be a deal breaker for those who only care about what eToro guarantees, but it does mean that eToro isn’t right for many other investors.
