What is eToro ?
If you are new to crypto and looking to start investing in this medium, eToro might be of interest to you.
Launched in 2007, the eToro broker aims to allow all investor profiles to invest in financial assets. The platform has evolved a lot over time to tend towards the most complete service possible.
eToro has not always offered cryptocurrencies. When it hit the market in 2007, Bitcoin hadn’t even been invented yet. However, today it is one of the main sites for buying Bitcoin, Ethereum and all kinds of other digital currencies.
Initially, eToro was a trading platform, a broker. It was one of the first sites to offer this type on the market. What makes eToro different is that they never stopped caring about the user experience.
eToro’s main concern is to provide an easy and pleasant to use interface for beginners and experienced investors.
During its years of evolution, eToro has continued to innovate by becoming, in particular, the first social trading platform. That is to say, a platform that combines investment in financial assets and a social network of traders where each user has a profile and can interact with others.
They have thus created a real community of people who exchange their ideas, their good plans and also their losses.
Later, the bull-horned platform was one of the first to get into copy trading.
Copy trading is the act of following the investments of experienced traders who have good results by aligning themselves with their investments. This allows a novice investor to benefit from expertise without having any personally.
The arrival of eToro in cryptos
It was not until 2017, 10 years after their launch, that eToro began to offer its users to buy cryptocurrency. Even if it seems late compared to their launch (2007) and the launch of Bitcoin (2009), remember that in 2017, very few people were interested in it and a bitcoin cost less than 10,000 euros.
However, it was in 2017 that Bitcoin experienced its first gigantic rise and eToro wasted no time in also being one of the forerunners in the accessibility of cryptos for the general public.
Winning bet.
What can you buy on eToro ?
eToro is not just a crypto trading platform. Originally, the platform came on the market to democratize trading and allow anyone to easily invest their money in assets.
Today, eToro’s offer covers 6 substantial financial markets :
- Corporate actions
- Cryptocurrencies
- Stock indices
- ETFs (investment funds)
- Raw materials
- Currencies
The very wide offer offered by the broker is advantageous for users who can find the majority of the most accessible investments on a single platform.
In addition to pure investments, eToro offers exclusive user-oriented features and user experience.
It is indeed possible to :
- Do social trading : you can join “the club” and have a public profile on which you share your investments, your gains, your losses. You can trade with others, etc. This is called social trading: a mix between trading and social networking
- Copy trading : eToro provides its users with dozens of recognized investors that you can simply follow on their investments. You have access to their returns, their investments, etc.
- Smart portfolios : these are investment “packs” in which all kinds of assets are collected with a certain percentage within the portfolio. You can invest in these portfolios with just a few clicks and follow the same proportion and assets easily
The features offered by eToro are interesting for beginners because they can start investing by communicating with other investors and following expert signals. This allows them a good introduction less risky than if they start alone.
What cryptocurrencies are available on eToro ?
Since they were added to the platform, eToro has become a benchmark in cryptocurrencies. This is the solution chosen by a lot of people who want to buy their first cryptos.
It is obviously possible to buy Bitcoin on eToro, but not only. Over the years, eToro’s crypto catalog has grown and now includes more than 100 different cryptocurrencies.
Here are some cryptos that can be purchased through the eToro platform :
What is the eToro wallet ?
Within its platform, eToro offers its investors to store their cryptos in the eToro wallet. It allows users to have a public address to directly exchange their cryptos on the blockchain.
This type of wallet is called custodial wallet, it is internal to the platform and does not really belong to you.
eToro registration: how to open an eToro account ?
As you can see, eToro is a platform that aims to make life as easy as possible for its users. For this reason, eToro registration is very easy and very intuitive.
It only takes a few minutes to have access to a substantial catalog of investments of all kinds.
To register on eToro, all you need to do is :
- Go to https://www.etoro.com/fr/
- Click on “Start Investing” in the center of the screen
- Follow the few registration steps
- Your account is created
The most tedious step will be to verify your account. Indeed, the verification procedures of investment platforms are always consistent. However, it remains easy and fast (usually less than 24 hours).
Fresh eToro : what to expect ?
This is a question that burns the lips of all of us. It’s all very well to have access to so many services and investments, but it must come at a cost !
What are the eToro fees charged by the platform? Obviously, the trading site has thought of everything and does not want to scare away budding investors with fees that would be scary.
In the same way as their colleague Bitpanda, eToro has tried not to charge any fees !
However, they have to finance their platform, so how is it going ?
The theoretical costs
On paper, eToro appears as a volunteer platform that charges no fees for its services.
Here are the stocks that require no eToro fees in 2022 :
- 0€ when registering with eToro to open the account;
- 0€ management fees during your user experience;
- 0% fee on the purchase of shares.
The practical costs
Here are the positions on which eToro fees are charged in 2022 for investors :
- Spread : This is the ultimate way for a broker to charge fees. The spread is simply the difference between the price for buying and selling an asset (example: I buy Bitcoin at €29,000 and I can resell it at €29,001. The euro difference, this is the broker’s commission). Here is the percentage spread that eToro charges based on the asset:
- 1% for cryptocurrencies
- From 1 pip for currencies
- From 2 pips for commodities
- From 0.75 points for indices
- 0.09% for stocks and ETFs
- Withdrawal fees : eToro applies a fixed price for withdrawals of $5
- Conversion fees : your deposit will always be in USD. If you need to convert against another currency, eToro will charge from 150 pips depending on what you are converting
- Inactivity fees : if you leave your account 12 months without activity, eToro will charge you $10 per month of inactivity
eToro is one of the largest investment platforms in the world. Plus, it’s been around for 15 years. These are not absolute arguments but they are 2 important signals to judge the seriousness of a platform :
- His notoriety
- His senior years
The platform is very intuitive and allows anyone to start investing in cryptos (or otherwise). It is an accessible solution that also allows you to measure your risks since you can follow traders according to their success rates.
The features offered by eToro are also interesting and constitute low-risk investment strategies. Also in terms of fees, eToro stands out since the fees are very low.
Our eToro opinion is quite positive given these different arguments.
eToro or Binance, which one to choose ?
eToro versus Binance is a bit like David versus Goliath. There is no absolute answer or hands down winner.
These are two very well-known and serious platforms but which do not meet the same needs.
Binance is 100% focused on crypto and web3 while eToro touches more areas.
In general, we will advise beginners to turn to a platform such as eToro which is easier to learn. Binance can seem a bit complicated at first if you don’t have basic knowledge.