eToro Review 2024

3 Steps to Sign Up to eToro

1. Register: Opening a free trading account with eToro is quick and easy. You must provide your full name, contact telephone number and email, before selecting a strong password. To fully activate your account for trading, you will also be required to provide some KYC identification.

2. Make a Deposit: Once your account is activated, you will be directed through the simple and straightforward process of depositing funds into your account. eToro offers a wide range of payment methods, so you can choose one that suits you best.

3. Start Trading: You are now ready to begin trading on the platform. Take a little time to read any educational resources available and manage your risk limits. It is the world’s largest social investment network, so you also have the option to copy the trades of others.

History of eToro

eToro was formed in January 2007, when a couple of entrepreneurs set out to make the world of trading accessible to anyone, anywhere, without depending on global financial institutions. Founded by Yoni and Ronen Assia, the core team comprises seasoned experts from the world of Finance and Technology.

Yoni is a member of the YPO and was included by Financial News in its prestigious Fintech 40 ranking and by City A.M. as a Fintech 100 top influencer. He holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Management and an MSC in Computer Science.

Ronan holds a B.A. in Industrial Design from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, as well as an M.A. in Product Design from the Royal College of Art in London.  For more than 20 years, he has been merging technology and design to create products that perform across multiple platforms.

In September 2007, eToro launched its first Visual F.X. online trading platform. By May 2009, the long-awaited WebTrader was introduced. This new intuitive trading platform improved upon the previous model in almost every way conceivable, providing an array of professional tools that could be used by investors of all levels of experience.

The following year, eToro launched OpenBook, introducing the world’s first social trading platform. This allowed the company to create the CopyTrader™ function, which among other features, contributed to OpenBook winning the Finovate Europe Best of Show in 2011.

After adding stocks to their expanding list of tradable assets and instruments, it was their mission to combine the capabilities of WebTrader with the social features of OpenBook. This was accomplished in October 2015.

The year-on-year effort to continue to develop and innovate has always been at the heart of eToro. In 2016, the platform created Copy Portfolio™ – investment management that is driven by the latest cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence systems (A.I) and an expert investment committee.

The platform has now expanded on the number of cryptocurrencies available to their users, offering twice or even three times as many as their closest competitors.

Regulation and Security

eToro is considered one of the most secure exchange platforms to sign-up with due to its regulatory history and current status. As a company, it has always ensured that they comply with top-tier regulatory authorities such as the FCA, MiFID, AFSL, and CYSEC. Their strict adherence to safe financial practices has helped to cement their place as one of the leading platforms for financial trading.

The license to use the Copy Trading™ feature is given by eToro themselves, who assess investors on an individual basis before deciding any limitations that may be imposed.

You can find full information concerning the regulatory status on their official website, along with a comprehensive guide to trading and availability.

Is eToro Safe?

As a regulated platform, eToro requires users to validate their accounts by providing authentic documents that prove their identity. These practices are in place to protect users from fraudulent individuals and provide a particularly safe environment for investors to conduct their trades. By ensuring users complete this stringent process, it remains compliant with KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti Money Laundering) laws.

It is important to note that not all exchange and brokerage platforms are regulated, and for those who have no governing oversight, investments could be at considerable risk from insolvency, closure, or outright scams.

The founders have always sought to protect their users in every jurisdiction of their operations. This means that if you are looking for an arena to trade cryptocurrency, you could not possibly find a safer option than the eToro platform.

All account information and transactional data conducted on the network are encrypted with the latest military-grade protocols. 2FA (2 Factor Authentication) and an Anti-phishing facility are also available, and new users are encouraged to activate these to apply additional layers of security to their trading accounts and private data.

Reputation

The reputation of eToro speaks for itself, and it only takes a quick internet search to discover that they have arguably serviced more satisfied customers than any other exchange platform to date.

A solid reputation certainly brings more clients to the site. The platform has over 13 million users across 200 different countries, with around 200,000 active daily.

It can be argued that the platform has been at the very forefront of the fintech revolution, delivering the highest standard of service to all its customers for well over a decade.

Is eToro for Me?

A common question among users is whether the platform will serve their needs and suit their requirements. Beginners may be concerned that they might be confused by a more technical layout or market data streams. In contrast, more seasoned investors want to ensure that there is enough functionality for them to call upon their years of experience to maximise returns. Here, we will examine the platform from both perspectives to provide you with a clear picture of what to expect, regardless of your previous knowledge and skill level.

I’m a Beginner

For those who are new to the social investment network platform, eToro offers a wealth of educational resources to get you started. You should take full advantage of the information that is provided to you freely, as it will enable you to understand the fundamental mechanics of the software, helping you develop your trading strategy, or informing you on how to copy the successful strategies of others.

I’m an Expert

For the more advanced user, the trading platform comes with a comprehensive set of tools to help alleviate some of the time-consuming tasks involved with investment trading. The Social Trading functionality can allow a seasoned trader the ability to compare strategies to their own.

Experts are also paid in accordance with how many users copy their unique strategies and portfolio. This is a great way to drive the social aspects of the platform, providing rewards for all parties. Beginners can potentially raise their success rates and develop their skills, while contributors are incentivised to participate within the community.

What Are the Benefits of Trading Crypto in eToro?

It is probably the most well-established platform of all online trading networks and has been under continuous development, with significant improvements and expansions put in place year on year since the company was founded.

It is the largest social investment network in the world, with an ever-growing user base of over 13 million.

Age has not brought complacency because it remains a pioneer and innovator of the entire industry. The revolutionary concepts that are released on the platform are often adopted by competitors, who try to integrate these unique qualities in a bid to keep pace with the market leader.

With adherence to regulation assured, you know that when you use eToro, you are in an environment where you can learn and grow as a trader. The platform is quickly expanding its list of cryptocurrencies and already has over 40 available to choose from at the time of writing.

Beginners learn to take first steps in the financial markets, and seasoned investors are rewarded for their effective strategies and advice. The platform offers accurate, impartial information when it comes to managing your risk levels and setting your stop-and-take limits.

Many online trading platforms will come and go, but as the largest social investment network of them all, eToro is here to stay and will continue to care for its customers through unrivalled service and support.

Fees and Costs of eToro

Unlike some competitors, eToro does not charge management fees, even when copying other traders’ portfolios. Signing up and creating your trading account is also completely free. Fees on the spreads of cryptocurrency are competitive, at a 1% flat fee added when buying or selling crypto assets.

If you buy the underlying crypto asset, this can be stored in your eToro wallet.

The platform offers several different investment plans that provide an extensive range of options for users. As such, fees can vary significantly from one plan to another. Exiting a position or selling stocks will also incur an imposition fee, but this is not unusual amongst almost every trading platform, and the rate at eToro is relatively low at 0.7%.

It has a fixed withdrawal fee of $5, which does not change no matter how much you wish to take out.

Payment Methods and Limits

Accepted Deposit Methods

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Maestro
• Wire Transfer (with a minimum deposit of $500)

Minimum Deposit and Withdrawal Limits

• A minimum deposit of $100
• Minimum withdrawal limit of $30
• No maximum withdrawal limit applies

Trading Limitations

• Minimum trade size for the cryptocurrency is $10
• The minimum amount required to copy another trader is $200
• Each instrument has a maximum number of units permitted per position
• Each account has a maximum exposure permitted per leverage tier on each instrument

*Use of leverage may be subject to limits in accordance with ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) regulation.

Performance Features and Functionality

One of the greatest achievements and unique selling points of eToro is the Copy Portfolio™ function (formally Copy Trader™). This revolutionary social networking incentive allows expert traders to share their strategies and insights with people who are taking their first steps into the world of cryptocurrency trading. The platform caters to users of all abilities and experience, providing an ideal trading environment for all.

Copy Portfolio is categorised into two main options – Top Trader Portfolios and Market Portfolios.

Top Trader Portfolios gather the best performing traders on the eToro network, allowing a user to follow their actions and strategies. This could be described as having a team of advanced investment traders working on your behalf.

Market Portfolios apply one proven market strategy to a user’s CFD stocks, commodities, or ETFs. Combined with cutting edge AI management, the system is designed to help users to improve their win rate through the adoption of a consistent, established approach.

It has more recently been putting a lot of focus into ‘Good Dollar’. This scheme aims to provide a Universal Basic Income (UBI) to everybody in a bid to tackle social inequality. Many economists would argue that the recent pandemic, COVID-19, has highlighted the need for such a project to be introduced. This further demonstrates that the focus of the company is of a much larger scale than other similar platforms on the market.

Trading Platforms

eToro does not currently support the MT4 or MT5 platforms, as these are not compatible with the award-winning products that are integrated into the software. This means that, for the expanding community of users to truly benefit from the innovations created by eToro, the company had to build its secure trading interface from the ground up.

This marked the creation of the intuitive platform, WebTrader in 2009. A year later, OpenBook, an award-winning social trading platform, was added as well. Both were made available on all mobile devices two years later.

In 2015, WebTrader and OpenBook were combined to offer all the online and social trading features through a single interface that was both intuitive and easy to navigate.

The trading platform also offers a demo account, where users can play with $100,000 of virtual funds in real-time. This can be used for beginners to familiarise themselves with the platform before committing any real funds. It can also be used for more experienced traders to trial new strategies that they have formulated.

Educational Resources

The list of educational resources available is extensive and easy to understand. The platform offers recent news and analysis pieces that are of interest to both beginners and expert traders alike.

The podcast series is an ongoing project with all previous recordings available for free download. Each episode gathers experts in their respective fields to uncover relevant world issues and developments that will undoubtedly affect the markets, presented in an entertaining and insightful discussion

There are video tutorials available as well as comprehensive guides on Social Trading and Fintech in general.

The sheer scope of educational resources available has caused many competitors to add to their catalog, in a bid to be considered in the same league.

Trading Options

There are hundreds of different assets available to trade, and these are divided across the following categories:

• Cryptocurrencies
• Stocks
• Commodities
• Fiat
• Currencies
• ETF’s (Exchange Traded Funds)
• Indices

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have rapidly grown in popularity over recent years, and eToro has been taking huge strides towards incorporating more of these valuable digital assets into the platform.

High volatility makes these trading instruments the perfect choice for short-term investments. It is not uncommon for the market to witness double-digit percentage fluctuations for these most popular cryptos within a single day.

Account Types

Retail Clients

Retail Clients still have complete access to all trading assets and can choose to trade manually, or Copy Trade (subject to suitability) manually. Retail Clients receive protections by the Investor Compensation Fund and negative balance protection with margin closeout restrictions.

Professional Clients

To qualify as a Professional Client, users must first pass a test to ensure suitability. Although Professional Clients will not receive certain ESMA protections, when market conditions cause a drop into negative equity, eToro will absorb the loss, resetting equity to zero.

Professional Clients also have the option to open positions with leverage of 1:400 on specific trading instruments and receive a reduction in current margin rates.

Final Thoughts

Those who wish to trade with lesser-known coins may not be well-suited to this platform, but for investors who want to trade on the most popular and promising crypto, it provides the perfect environment not only to trade but to develop your skills and strategies as well.

The company truly sets the bar in terms of innovation. Every year, a new expansion or improvement is introduced that holds great promise for traders of all levels of experience.

The regulatory status and overall professionalism of the brand inspire a great deal of trust. With so many popular cryptocurrencies available, a highly praised customer service, and a vast range of educational resources free to access, eToro is unrivalled in the service it provides.

Heard about Plus500 too and aren’t sure which platform to choose? Check out our eToro vs Plus500 page.

eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.

Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

This communication is intended for information and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or investment recommendation. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice.  The value of your investments may go up or down.  Your capital is at risk.

Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.

Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more

eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.