eToro US Review

In this 2023 eToro US crypto exchange review, I’ll break down the pros and cons of the platform, as well as the reputation behind it and the features available. 

To be clear, this review is of eToro US. Only US citizens are eligible to have an account, and all non-US citizens must make an account with the non-US version of eToro. 

These distinctions are made for regulatory reasons. The US is known to be the most strict regarding regulation. 

eToro has taken the world by storm with its innovative copy trading features. It's easier than ever to replicate someone else’s portfolio returns by simply copy trading them on eToro. 

Whether you are a retail investor or an institutional trader, you never want to pay too high of fees or use an obsolete trading platform. With all the bad exchanges out there, it’s easy to choose the wrong one. This article will help you decide if eToro is right for you.

Have you been asking yourself the following questions: Is eToro US safe? Is there such thing as an eToro US scam? Is eToro legit? Should you consider eToro US as your exchange? Are the fees acceptable? 

Let’s dive in and find the answers!
 

 

1. Key Takeaways

I understand you may not have enough time to read my full eToro US review, so here is an actionable summary to help you.
 

Pros of eToro US

 

Cons of eToro US

 
 

2. Background

 

  
 

3. Reputation and Security 9.0/10

eToro has been around for quite some time and enables trading across many countries. It has obtained trading licenses from the CySEC authority in Europe, the FCA authority in the United Kingdom, and FinCen in the United States. 

The focus of this article is on the US division of eToro. Still, I included all the other licenses above to show how governments worldwide view eToro as a legitimate entity.

Obtaining authorization from FinCen, one of the most strict regulatory bodies around implies that eToro has gone through all the necessary KYC (know-your-customer) and AML (anti-money-laundering) laws which prevent bad actors from opening up exchanges.
 

Security Features

eToro’s website has an SSL certificate, so you can be sure that all the information you submit to it will be encrypted to industry standards. This will protect your data.

You can choose to implement an optional 2FA (two-factor authentication) procedure onto your account, but it is not the default standard for all new accounts. 
 

Complaints Received

Of over 11,000 verified reviews on TrustPilot, eToro’s average rating was a 4 out of 5. This is a good sign of a trustworthy exchange. 

You always have to take reviews with a grain of salt. Many people who have a positive experience with a platform do not feel the need to leave a positive review. However, that is not the case with people who have negative experiences. 

The fact that most of these reviews were positive says a lot about the user base of eToro. 

Many of the reviews stated that this was the reviewer’s first time investing, and they had a seamless experience with eToro. There were also many reviews applauding the customer service of eToro, but we’ll get to that later. 
 

Team

The founder of eToro is Yoni Assia, who famously worked with Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin. 

Vitalik approached Yoni in 2013 about a project known as Colored Coins. After much deliberation, Vitalik decided to build a separate project and draft a new white paper. This new project became Ethereum which has since risen to become the second-biggest cryptocurrency in the world behind Bitcoin. 

Yoni decided to focus on eToro, and it has since become the world’s leading copy trading platform. 
 

The company has expanded and now has over 1,200 employees with offices worldwide catering to over 11 million users. A proud Meet the eToro Team page displays each of its executive team’s social profiles and other high-profile individuals. 

This significantly strengthens the platform’s legitimacy as dozens of professionals are putting their reputation on the line in the name of eToro. 
 
 

4. eToro US Supported Countries

This eToro review focuses on the US division, so make sure that you don’t use eToro US unless you live in the US. 

eToro has operations in over 140 countries globally, so no matter where you are, you’ll likely have access to an eToro account. 

Users in the US are restricted to only trading cryptocurrencies, although there are plans to introduce stocks and ETFs soon. 

There are, however, six US states that do not allow eToro to operate:

• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New York
• Tennessee

If you are located in any of these states, be sure to check out the table below to find an exchange where you live. 

 
 

5. Exchange Features 10.0/10

Base currency

Pairs

Volume (24h)

Trading Interface

eToro offers a robust trading interface for beginner and advanced traders alike. Placing trades is very easy to do.
 

Order Types Available

eToro has enabled all of the run-of-the-mill order types like market orders, limit orders, and stop loss orders, but has also implemented advanced order types like Fill-or-Kill (FoK), Immediate-or-Cancel (IOC), Good-til-Canceled (GTC), and Good-til-Date (GTD). 
 

Fill-or-Kill

Fill-or-Kill orders are executed at a specific price or canceled entirely. Traders primarily use this type of order to lessen the risk of the market moving against them. 

If there is an adequate amount of liquidity available, these orders will be filled. If there isn't, then that may be a sign that the market is about to go in the opposite direction that the trader is going.
 

Immediate-or-Cancel

Immediate-or-Cancel orders are very similar to Fill-or-Kill orders, but they accept partial fills. 

These orders are primarily used to gain a trader exposure to a fast-moving market at a specific price. This also helps prevent big orders from moving the market too much in one way or another.
 

Good-til-Canceled

Good-til-Canceled orders are pretty self-explanatory. When an order is placed, it stays active until it is executed or canceled. There are several scenarios for GTC orders. 

For example, if you think Bitcoin will crash and you want to be sure you can buy at low prices, you can place a GTC bid that is far below the market price. 

If Bitcoin ever trades at the price you placed your bid, you’ll most likely have your trade filled automatically. 
 

Good-til-Date

Good-til-Date orders are the same as Good-til-Canceled, except they have a predetermined date for the trade to be canceled if it is not filled. 

If a future event is predicted to affect the price of an asset, a trader may place a GTD trade to ensure that their trade is canceled before the event. 
 

Copy Trading

The crux of the eToro platform is its ability to enable users to copy other users’ trades. 

This is made possible by the structure of eToro, which utilizes a social aspect in that everyone has an account and an account name. You can search for different accounts and see various aspects of their trading portfolio. 

Traders can post the trades they make, make posts with descriptions as to what and why they are doing, as well as their returns. 

Other traders can comment on these posts and start discussions. Overall, it is an exciting platform compared to non-social trading platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood. 

Below is the stats page from a random account I came across. You can see all of the portfolio returns over the last few years, and you can click on each month to see how these returns were obtained. 
 

The above account is fascinating because its returns strongly correlate with the cryptocurrency market’s behavior.

In 2017, Bitcoin and many altcoins experienced significant price appreciation before entering a period of decline in 2018. The above trader had a 154.4% return in 2017 and a -34.18% return in 2018. 

When Bitcoin and the rest of cryptocurrency rose again in 2020, this portfolio experienced a return of 92.72%. 

At the top of each account, a Copy button duplicates the trader’s trading activity and does so with your funds. 
 

Asset Classes

For US citizens, eToro only offers cryptocurrencies to trade. They offer fiat currencies, commodities, stocks, and ETFs to international users, and they plan to implement stock and ETF trading for US users soon. 
 

eToro Money Crypto Wallet

eToro has built an impressive wallet that enables you to deposit over 120 different cryptocurrencies. The wallet offers users the option of buying cryptocurrency with a Visa or Mastercard.

One of the main features of the wallet is its ‘unlosable key.’ With a typical digital wallet, users must input a 12 to 24-word mnemonic phrase that gives them access to their funds. With this method, only people who have access to that phrase have access to the account. 

eToro, on the other hand, offers a Key Recovery service that will restore a wallet for you by unlocking it and providing you with a new private key. 

There are, of course, pros and cons to this when it comes to accessibility and security, but it is an interesting product nonetheless. 

Most crypto exchanges do not offer a digital wallet but instead require users to keep their funds on the platform itself. 
 
 

6. User Experience 

The site has a great User Interface and User Experience. I never felt I was lost, and each of the pages promptly loaded all the relevant information. 

A collapsible left sidebar has recently become all the rage in crypto, and many DeFi and analytic platforms are adopting this format to great acclaim. 
 

Registration Process

Setting up an eToro account is very easy, and most accounts are KYC approved in several days. 

To make an account, you’ll need to input your Social Security Number along with identification documents. Once these are approved, you’ll be able to deposit and withdraw fiat and cryptocurrencies. 
 
 

7. Payments 9.0/10

Deposit and Withdrawal Methods

Users can fund their accounts with USD from a bank connection by buying cryptocurrency with a credit card or depositing cryptocurrencies from another wallet or exchange. 

The eToro US fiat withdrawal methods are ACH and wire. ACH deposits and withdrawals typically take three days to process, while wires can take anywhere from one to five days. 
 

Limits 

The eToro US minimum deposit is $50, and the eToro US minimum withdrawal is $30. There are no eToro US deposit fees. There is, however, a $5 eToro US withdrawal fee. 

Using the wire transfer method, both the eToro minimum deposit and the eToro minimum withdrawal increase to $500. 

The maximum deposit limit is $10,000 per day. There is no eToro US withdrawal limit. 
 
 

8. Fees 8.0/10

eToro US withdrawal fees and eToro US deposit fees are relatively low compared to other brokerages. 

There are round-trip spreads for each trade, and the amount varies depending on which cryptocurrency you are purchasing. Round trips refer to the purchasing and selling an asset or vice versa. 

Below are some of the eToro US trading fees involved with the most popular cryptocurrencies. For a complete list of the fees associated with each of the cryptocurrencies available on eToro, be sure to check their help center. 
 

Bitcoin	1%
Ethereum	1%
Bitcoin Cash	1%
Dash	1%
Litecoin	1%

It is important to note that eToro does charge an inactivity fee of $10 per month after 12 months of inactivity. 
 
 

9. Customer Service 10.0/10

eToro’s customer service is praised across multiple review sites. Since they have oriented their marketing towards beginner traders, this makes sense. 

The high level of support offered by eToro can be reached through email or a 24/7 chat. 

There is also an informative help center section of the website that has guides on how to manage many issues that may come up during a user’s time on the platform. 
 

 

9. Noteworthy Features 9.0/10

Although there is no leverage or margin trading on eToro, hence why there are no eToro leverage fees or eToro margin fees, the platform makes up for it with other unique features like Copy Trading and the eToro Academy. 
 

Copy Trading

All the features outlined in this article are available on desktop and also as an eToro US mobile app. This can be downloaded from either the Apple or Android application stores.

Given that the platform is built on the concept that users can socialize and copy each other's trades, it's worth mentioning again the copy trading features that eToro offers. 

Copy trading another portfolio is as easy as clicking a button. 
 

eToro Academy

As eToro is oriented towards beginner traders, they have built a helpful academy section of their website, which offers tutorials and articles about investing, trading, crypto, and more. 

eToro Academy also offers podcasts and video tutorials, all free of charge.
 

 

eToro US Review: Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed this review of eToro US. As you can see, the team behind it is well established, and they have delivered consistent results for over a decade. 

The platform has amassed a large user base by offering features distinguishing eToro from other brokerages. It will be interesting to see how many other exchanges implement copy trading features given the success that eToro has had with it. 

All in all, eToro is a very trustworthy and high-quality exchange. 

eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal. This is not meant to be tax advice or financial advice of any kind. The above information we compiled from online tax forums. Please, consult a CPA or lawyer if you have questions about filing your tax return, forms to use, or what is/is not taxable. eToro is not a tax advisor.