Not For Americans
Etoro is a great social trading platform where you can buy and sell digital currencies as well as stocks. I can’t say it’s not. However, I can say that it’s not an American product and pretty much sucks in America if you want to use it for crypto trading.
You Buy… And Nothing Else
The interface is nice and simple. Everything is easy to understand at a glance. I was able to get set up and make my first purchase quickly. I was quite excited.
The problems began when I noticed there was only a buy button. That’s it! I could buy and nothing else. There’s no sell button available and no option for converting from one crypto to another!
On top of the sell and conversion options not being available within the US, the send and receive capabilities are also missing.
If you want to do anything other than open and close your trades, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
Spread Fees
Etoro charges a spread fee. I honestly don’t understand it, and I don’t need to. All I know is it’s too much. As you can see below, I invested $900 on ADA and was immediately down around $30, which then increased to about a $40 deficit. This loss occurred even as the crypto value itself was surging.
Coins Held On Exchange
Due to not having the option to send or receive your coins to your crypto wallet, they sit in the account on the Etoro exchange, which is not ideal. It’s much less secure than sending your coins to a wallet. I currently use– and recommend–Exodus wallet. I also use a few others for specific reasons as all crypto wallets have their pros and cons.
Cash Held Hostage
Finally, to really kill what enthusiasm I had left about the platform, they essentially had my cash held hostage for a week. I couldn’t withdraw my funds due to a pending transaction status on what I deposited. This needs to be a hell of a lot faster! If you need to move money around quickly, Etoro won’t be an option if you live in the US.
Conclusion
With the experience I’ve had, I cannot recommend using Etoro for crypto if you’re an American. The functionality is crippled, and the holding of cash while transactions process takes forever.
Skip on this app and find something better for crypto. There are plenty of exchanges that can do the job better, such as Coinbase, Kraken, Binance.US, and Gemini. 🤓