eToro review — Scam or not? Social trading platform’s test

eToro Review

Millions of people are already using eToro’s trading platform and the various functions including social trading. This is the reason why we made eToro test. The goal is to evaluate eToro platform, how fast and easy is it to trade with eToro using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies and what fees can be paid by the investor.

Opinions about eToro app are divided on the web. Some eToro reviews are very good and other eToro reviews are neutral. This test also looks at the company’s history, the features of the website, what security features are in place to protect investors, what fees the new user will have to pay, and last but not least, how the trading platform works.

At eToro you have the opportunity to trade CFDs of well-known stocks like Apple, Google and some others. Other investment opportunities include trading CFDs on commodities such as oil, gold, silver, cocoa and coffee, as well as forex. ETFs, indices and cryptocurrencies are also available to buy and sell. Some of the best known cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. However, the website offers significantly more cryptocurrencies for trading. The main focus is on trading CFDs, which is a kind of gambling. Here you don’t buy real stocks or coins, but only bet on the change of the price.

The story behind eToro broker

eToro was founded in January 2007 by Toni Assia and Ronen Assia and has been continuously developed over the years. For example, in 2009 the Webtrader with the trading platform was added and in 2011 the Android and iOS App were released.

In 2013 stocks of well-known companies were added and in 2017 cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and many others were added. Today the team consists of 19 employees and has 5 investors from all over the world. The following corporate values are especially important for the founders: simplicity, innovation, entertainment, openness and quality.

In addition, the founders see eToro experience as transparent for every client, as one of the safest trading platforms in the EU and would like to be personally there for every investor. That’s why their customer service is supposed to be available 24 hours a day, five days a week.

eToro’s cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies were added in 2017 and are constantly being expanded with new coins. The website offers 14 different digital currencies and 16 currency pairs.

You can easily buy Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies via eToro. These purchased cryptocurrencies cannot be paid out to a wallet at the moment, but can only be held via this platform. According to the YouTube channel of eToro this possibility will be given as soon as possible.

The special feature of eToro is the possibility to follow and copy other investors. With this feature, trading is a bit delayed. The best investors are copied by many hundreds, if not thousands, of other investors. However, the copiers do not have the same chances of success as the original investor. Since the market is changing all the time, a few minutes of delay can result in large differences in price. However, the profit margin is still often over 20 percent.

How to buy cryptocurrencies with eToro

With eToro you can easily buy cryptocurrencies and then sell them again.

Step 1 — Select amount and choose a coin

This step-by-step guide explains how to trade cryptocurrencies and how to buy cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin or any another one) using eToro. There is not much to consider to make a purchase. The price and fees are determined by the base currency. Select the required pair of coins and the platform will immediately show the price history for today, this week and this month. To buy one of the currencies, click on the «B» and you will be redirected to your account. If you are not registered yet, you will find yourself on the login page. After in popup window you can immediately see the exchange rate and how much you have to pay. eToro fees can be found in the FAQs and there is a special page for eToro fees. Every single broker’s fee rate is listed for all possible currencies, stocks, commodities and cryptocurrencies.

Step 2 — Hold or trade

Step 3 — The data verification

Before the purchase of a cryptocurrency is completed, all data is displayed in an overview and eToro fees are usually also shown here. For the confirmation of the purchase contract you accept the trade and the platform will start working.

Step 4 — The withdrawal of the ctyptocurrency

At the moment you cannot withdraw your currency into an electronic wallet and will therefore remain on the platform for storage. However, the programmers are already working on a special eToro Wallet. You can already download it from the Android or iOS Store, but the two platforms are still separate at the moment.  They are working on linking between the two programs.

The functionality

The special feature of eToro is the possibility to copy transactions of other investors. This gives you the opportunity to take famous and successful investors as masters and copy their CFD trades. Another type of copying is the copying with so-called «market portfolios», in which stocks, CFDs, ETFs and commodities are bundled with the help of a special market strategy. This type of investment makes it easier for new investors to enter the market. This type of trading also allows experienced traders to learn about new strategies from other investors and to change their own way of trading.

To copy another investor, you have to select the desired product in which you would like to invest and make the necessary settings according to your personal preferences. Then you have to select the desired trading funds and confirm with the «Invest» button. If you have any questions, you should take a look at the FAQs, where the frequently asked questions are answered. The website also offers a daily market overview and an economic calendar. Also there is eToro’s blog where all news of the platform will be published and where you will get a deeper insight into the world of cryptocurrencies and other trading methods.

Open an account with eToro

To open an account with eToro, follow the instructions on the «Register» page. Click on the button «You don’t have an account yet? Register now» and you are on the registration form. The website, like any other broker or exchange, requires personal information. The platform requires the entry of a valid telephone number so that the operator can contact the investor in case of questions. In a short time you should find an e-mail with a confirmation link in your mailbox, which you should follow to verify your account. The website does not charge any fees for opening an account.

Every investor has the option to choose his native language for the website. The investor can choose among 18 different languages, it has been professionally translated from the original language and not with the help of a translation program. Available languages are English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Swedish, Italian, Czech, Chinese, Russian and many more. In addition, when you register, you will be directly informed that trading on stock exchanges involves risks and that you have to bear the loss of capital. Such warnings can be found on almost every page and are intended to remind investors of the dangers.

Etoro mobile application

eToro app was designed in April 2011 for Apple and Android smartphones. This allowed all investors to execute any trade while on the move. The app works on all mobile devices without any problems and otherwise you can access the website in the browser of your smartphone without installing an app. So you can trade cryptocurrencies and other assets from anywhere in the world at any time. According to the broker’s information, all functions of the desktop version are available in the app. You can buy and sell any currency, stock or commodity, exchange it or simply store it on eToro platform.

This eToro program has been downloaded over a million times and is frequently updated. With 69 MB, it’s small enough to work on any smartphone, even if its memory is almost full. As soon as you have a problem with the application or trading, you can leave eToro request and eToro support will contact you shortly. For Android app you need at least Android version 4.1 or higher.

eToro: pros and cons

The website is programmed in a modern way, informs every new and experienced investor several times about the risks of trading cryptocurrencies or stocks. eToro review shows that the website has a wide range of stocks, currencies, digital currencies and commodities, but offers only 14 different cryptocurrencies to trade, which is not much compared to other exchanges. The main type of trading on eToro is CFD. However, eToro platform offers a variety of investment opportunities and there should be something for every new user.

The possibility to follow other users and imitating their trades can also be very helpful for new users and stimulates interaction between investors. You can learn new strategies and always are in close contact with other investors. A disadvantage of eToro is that the fees are not directly transparent and you have to check them first. You will then find a detailed overview, but it will take a while to find a detailed overview, but it will take a while.

eToro payment methods

To make a deposit on this platform, you need a Visa or Mastercard card, a Diners Club account or a PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, UnionPay, Webmoney or Yandex Money account. Every investor should have such payment methods, because otherwise he is out of place.

On the trading platform you will find a complete list of all tradable cryptocurrencies supported by the platform. To make a deposit the user must decide how and in what amount of cryptocurrency he/she wishes to invest. Then required settings — which currency has to be bought and at which price.

License & Security

Security is in very high level on the website, according to the broker, and it is important that the account and money of the investors are protected at all times. eToro holds customers’ funds in European tier 1 banks. A tier 1 bank is an institution with a very high core capital, which is a measure of the risk-bearing capacity of credit institutions. The higher the core capital, the more loans can be granted.

In addition, the site works with SSL encryption, so attacks from outside are more difficult to perform. This is to prevent unauthorised transactions from being performed by criminals. This aspect is very important because transactions are non-reversible and you will not get your money back if you make a wrong investment.

eToro customer service

As soon as a problem or question arises during trading, contact customer service. At eToro, there are several ways to get in touch with customer service. Just select the appropriate tabs as already registered investor in on-line help. For future investors there is the possibility of placing a new request and of leaving an email address in a contact form with a message. Registered users also have the option of contacting customer service via chat or telephone after they have logged in.

The support is available 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday for the customers of the broker and tries to help them in the best possible way. The last option to contact support is the rating in the Android or iOS Store. The support replies after only a few days with a personal message and provides an e-mail address for communication. The best thing to do, however, is to first look at the help section and the FAQs to check if you already have an answer to your questions there. The support also seems to be available in several languages, which is a big advantage for users from different countries.

eToro fees

All eToro fees are all listed on a subpage of the FAQs. The individual transaction fees per currency, commodity, stock or currency are listed and all other eToro fees are listed as well.

For example, there is an inactivity fee if the account is inactive for more than 12 months. eToro fee is 10 Euros per month until the balance is being used.

If you transfer the money back to the original bank account, you also have to pay eToro fees in the amount of 25 Euro. In this eToro test no other costs were discovered, but it can be changed at any time.

eToro reviews and user opinions

As soon as you search the Internet for eToro reviews, you will find a wide variety of eToro experiences. Positive users would definitely recommend this platform to others and write that it works perfectly.

Some negative reviews complain that there is still no possibility to withdraw purchased cryptocurrencies.

Is eToro a scam?

Is eToro fraud or is eToro reliable? You can be sure that eToro is reliable and not a scam after you evaluate the reviews over the internet and read our test. The website also has over nine million users and it is a licensed broker. In addition, eToro app has been downloaded a million times and rated 4.1 out of 5 possible stars.

The only problem that is often reported is that the platform does not handle the costs very transparently. However, eToro is one of the best providers for online trading. You can easily buy and sell cryptocurrencies via eToro app and the website meets all modern security standards. If you have any questions, customer service is there to help you, offering useful tips and a solution to almost any problem. The site also has a professional design and SSL certificate encryption.

eToro — The Conclusion