eToro Review – A Crypto Social Investing Network

review-rating
eToro is an easy-to-use platform geared toward beginners who want to begin trading cryptocurrencies.
9/10
Cost
9/10
Features
8.5/10
Ease of use
9/10
Services
8.5/10
If you are investing or thinking of investing, you have no doubt been hearing much about cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and even Dogecoin. These alternative currencies are digital assets growing in popularity yet not always available on traditional stock trading platforms. For example, online brokers like E*TRADE cannot buy and sell crypto. To get into the cryptocurrency trading arena, you’ll need one of the newer platforms specifically designed to help you explore this brave new world.
One such environment is eToro, which offers 16 of the world’s most popular crypto coins. Here, we look at the company in our eToro review.

What is eToro?

EToro, based in Israel but with U.S. headquarters in Hoboken, N.J., was established in 2006. It operates in the United Kingdom, Australia, Cyprus, the U.S., and its home country. In addition to crypto, the company also lets you invest in stocks with 0% commission and the ability to buy fractional shares and ETFs (with no commission, of course!)

How does eToro work?

Signing up for an eToro trading account is simple and free – a completely user-friendly platform.
Begin by entering your name and email or connecting via your Facebook app.
Once you confirm your email address, you are returned to the site to complete your profile.
eToro Review – A Crypto Social Investing Network
Add your basic details, location, and Social Security Number. Then, pick your level of investing experience.
eToro Review – A Crypto Social Investing Network
Next, establish your goals.
eToro Review – A Crypto Social Investing Network
Then, how long you plan to invest.
eToro Review – A Crypto Social Investing Network
Then, select your risk tolerance.
eToro Review – A Crypto Social Investing Network
You’ll go through the questions asking if you are related to anyone who could provide insider trading secrets, your income and employment, and then your phone number. You’ll be texted a code to confirm it is you.
eToro Review – A Crypto Social Investing Network
Next, you accept that you know W9 for any earnings, and that’s it. You are ready to deposit from your bank account (credit card or PayPal account) and start investing.
eToro Review – A Crypto Social Investing Network
eToro Review – A Crypto Social Investing Network
Of course, the platform offers a mobile app for Android and iOS users.

How much does eToro cost?

EToro promotes itself as free – no deposit or withdrawal fees are charged. But there's a $10 account minimum for stocks and ETFs and $200 for CopyTrader. The company charges a 1% crypto trading fee.

eToro features

Over 60 cryptocurrencies

eToro offers Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC), Dash (DASH), NEO (NEO), EOS (EOS), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Cardano (ADA), Tezos (XTZ), TRON (TRX), IOTA (MIOTA), Zcash (ZEC), Chainlink (LINK) and Uniswap (UNI).
You can enroll in an eToro account from any state, although only 40 states can trade and deposit using it. The company says it is continuing to roll out across the country.

Fractional assets

With Bitcoin a little over $43k, you may think it’s too late to take ownership and invest in this finite coin, which is the largest of the cryptocurrencies. Not so with eToro. Fractional trades for $1 are available, so you can buy into fractions of Bitcoin as you can afford it. However, eToro charges a 1% crypto trading fee.

Digital assets

Like many platforms that allow you to buy and trade crypto, eToro provides crypto assets through its automated system, but you do not have it in your digital wallet for storage. To have your assets directly, you must transfer them to the eToro Money wallet for payments. It’s the wave of many crypto platforms, but serious investors wanting to keep their digital assets in their own wallets will not like this feature.
Your funds at eToro are FDIC-insured up to $250,000.
You can also use your debit card to buy Bitcoin, again, where it is stored with eToro.

A practice portfolio

For those nervous about entering the volatile crypto market, eToro provides a $100k virtual portfolio for eToro users as a demo account to practice your strategy before investing real money.

Copy trading

You can also follow along with eToro’s top crypto traders with its CopyTrader technology. By choosing a trader you want to follow, click Copy, set your amount, and then eToro trades for you whenever they trade.
eToro Review – A Crypto Social Investing Network
You can see actual people, where you can click on their past performance for examples to determine if you’d like to copy them, as these make real-time trades in popular cryptocurrencies.
eToro Review – A Crypto Social Investing Network
eToro Review – A Crypto Social Investing Network
This feature makes eToro known for being a Social Investment Network.
eToro touts this copy portfolio as working with top traders without the management fees, but it isn’t a free program. The traders you follow must get paid, and you pay based on a spread – no commissions go to eToro. Example spreads currently have Bitcoin at 0.75% as the lowest spread to 5% spread to follow a Tezos top trader.

Who is eToro best for?

eToro is best for – and geared at – new crypto investors. Your top traders won’t be Elon Musk and Mark Cuban, but you will find a place with plenty of opportunities to learn about cryptocurrency and practice until you are ready to start investing.

Who shouldn’t use eToro?

Entering the crypto world is not just as simple as using a brokerage. You must use one that deals in cryptocurrency, preferably one that gives you the keys to your crypto. Some platforms allow you to trade cryptocurrencies and, hopefully, make money. These keep your keys “for you,” which means you don’t have the crypto in your wallet. This is akin to trading in Gold but not having bars at home.

Pros and cons

Pros
  • Crypto platform. Trading for over 60 different cryptocurrencies.
  • Educational. With easy-to-use areas of the eToro platform, you can learn more about crypto, practice with a portfolio, and copy those already making good headway.
  • No hidden fees. The platform is upfront about any fees it will charge you so there are no surprises. It’s free to sign up.
Cons
  • No keys. You will not receive the keys to your crypto purchases. Instead, it is stored in an eToro wallet and if you want the funds, you get it in cash and not a digital asset.
  • Not available in all states. There are currently 40 states where you can use eToro.

eToro vs. competitors

Robinhood

Robinhood is a favorite to younger and new investors, offering crypto and fractional shares, gaining popularity for its involvement as a go-to for meme stocks. Robinhood is free to enroll and doesn’t have account minimums. It does charge you $5 per month for more premium services.
However, Robinhood only offers seven crypto coins: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, and Dogecoin.

Coinbase

A popular investor crypto exchange in the U.S., Coinbase has 200 tradable cryptocurrencies. Even better, you can stake your coins and keep them in your wallet, whether hosted by Coinbase or a non-custodial wallet. However, it has some of the highest fees. In addition to charging fixed trade fees based on the size of your trade, Coinbase also levies a spread-based fee of 0.50%.
Coinbase has two account types: its introductory platform and Coinbase Pro. This account allows for stop orders, limit orders, and more features.

FAQs

I see friends claiming big returns on crypto. Should I invest?
As with all investments, there are risks but crypto is extremely volatile. Don’t risk more than you are willing to lose.
Should I utilize a platform that provides me with private keys to my crypto?
If you are planning on investing in crypto – and not a ton – you may not care about having the keys to your assets. However, if you are going big on holding Bitcoin, for example, you’ll want private keys and your hard wallet to keep your assets safe.

The bottom line

EToro is an easy-to-use platform for beginners who want to begin trading cryptocurrencies. Its offerings include some of the major coins, and its fees can stay low if you’re interested in dipping a toe into cryptocurrency. But if you are considering making this a long-term investment, do yourself a favor and turn to a platform that gives you full control of your assets and doesn’t force you to exchange them for cash.

Joy Wallet is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor, financial advisor, loan broker, insurance producer, or insurance broker. Its articles, interactive tools and other content are provided to you for free, as self-help tools and for informational purposes only. They are not intended to provide investment advice. Joy Wallet does not and cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information in regard to your individual circumstances. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific investment issues. Featured estimates are based on past market performance, and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.

Our site doesn’t feature every company or financial product available on the market. We are compensated by our partners, which may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on our site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice. Our editorials are grounded on independent research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services.

We value your privacy. We work with trusted partners to provide relevant advertising based on information about your use of Joy Wallet’s and third-party websites and applications. This includes, but is not limited to, sharing information about your web browsing activities with Meta (Facebook) and Google. All of the web browsing information that is shared is anonymized. To learn more, click on our Privacy Policy link.

Share this article

Find Joy In Your Wallet