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With Bitcoin hitting all-time highs in 2024, many first time investors will be rushing to get in on the action. Popular online brokers like eToro can make it simple to enter this complex world.
To get started you will need to create an account, verify your identity and deposit funds with your preferred payment method. While this seems easy enough, you may have some questions if it’s your first time using the platform.
That’s why we’ve made this step-by-step guide with images, to guide you through the entire process of buying Bitcoin with eToro.
Steps to buy Bitcoin on eToro
Before you proceed with making an account to buy Bitcoin on eToro, be sure to conduct thorough research into your chosen platform and asset, and remember that your capital is at risk.
Step 1: Create an eToro account
You must create an account before you can buy Bitcoin on eToro.
The first step in this process is providing basic personal information, including your name, residential address and email address.
eToro also requires new customers to demonstrate their level of financial knowledge by completing a short questionnaire.
To start this process, click on the link below to visit the official eToro website and select ‘create account’. The form should take less than 10 minutes to complete.
You should ensure that you are using a private internet connection before submitting personal information online.
Step 2: Verify your eToro account
Arguably the most critical element of the eToro sign-up process is the verification stage. In accordance with anti-money laundering and know your customer (KYC) policies, brokers are required to request a valid form of identification from all new users.
New eToro users will be asked to provide photographs of two documents and upload them to the platform. This will entail proof of address (such as a bank statement or utility bill), and proof of identity (such as a passport or driving license).
Once these documents have been submitted, it may take up to 48 hours for eToro to verify your investment account.
Step 3: Fund your eToro account
Once your eToro investment account has been created and verified, you will need to link an approved payment method – eToro accepts debit card, bank transfer, and e-wallets such as PayPal.
In the US, eToro users are required to deposit at least $100. To complete this process, select ‘Deposit Funds’ from the eToro dashboard, and choose your payment method and amount. Finally, select ‘Deposit Now’. eToro does not charge any deposit fees.
Deposits made via debit card, online banking and e-wallets will be available instantly. Wire transfers can take four to seven business days to complete.
Step 4: Search for the Bitcoin ticker symbol
Once your investment account is created, verified and funded, you will be ready to buy Bitcoin on eToro.
To do so, navigate to the Bitcoin ticker using the search bar at the top of the dashboard. $BTC should appear as the first search result with a ‘trade’ button beside it.
Hit ‘trade’ to proceed straight to a buy order, or click on the ticker symbol itself to navigate to a dedicated page for the ticker. Here you can view a range of information on the asset, including historical performance, news and expert analysis.
Step 5: Place a buy order
All that remains is to place a buy order and open a position on the Bitcoin market. Investors can select the “trade” option, which enables the purchase of Bitcoin at its current price.
Alternatively, eToro offers an ‘order’ option, which allows investors to select a predetermined price. This means that, once the asset reaches the specified price, the position will be opened automatically.
Payment options and fees for Bitcoin on eToro
| Buy/sell fee | 1% |
| Custody | Free |
| Overnight | Free |
| Cryptoasset transfer | 2% |
| Deposit | Free |
| Withdrawal | $5 |
| Inactivity | $10/month after 12 months |
| Payment options | Debit/credit card, bank transfer, e-wallet |
Buying Bitcoin on eToro with copy trading
eToro are the pioneers of social trading. The platform includes a social media style news feed which lets you interact with other traders and see their investments and trades.
Copy Trading allows you to follow another trader’s portfolio and mimic their trades with your own money. You can do this to adopt a more active investment strategy, without the need to spend your own time and effort developing and executing a strategy.
While eToro only allows you to traders that have been verified and approved by eToro, the risk of losses are still high, and you’re essentially allowing someone else to manage your investments for you.
As such, you need to perform due diligence and make sure you align with the investor’s strategy and approach to trading.
Once you’ve chosen a trader to follow, you simply set how much money you would like to copy them with, and set a stop-loss which can help limit your potential downside.
After you buy Bitcoin on eToro
After you buy Bitcoin on eToro you have several options.
- Monitor your trade. You may want to keep your trade open, which means holding on to your Bitcoin while the price fluctuates. You can decide to close it at any time, such as when you’ve made enough profit or loss. You can use a stop-loss to help limit your potential downside, or use a take-profit order to sell at a specific price point and lock in a profit.
- Sell it. At some point you may choose to sell your Bitcoin, in which case you can either withdraw the profits from eToro (for a flat $5 fee) or reinvest them.
- Withdraw it to a wallet. Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin can be stored in a cryptocurrency wallet. Technically the Bitcoin stays on the blockchain, and the wallet stores your private keys. Private keys are used to access your Bitcoin and keep it safe. Storing your Bitcoin in a wallet means that you have complete ownership and responsibility over it, and reduces counter party risk associated with keeping it on a platform like eToro.
Benefits of buying Bitcoin on eToro
- Proprietary crypto wallet – The in-built eToro Money Crypto Wallet supports thousands of different tokens, and offers added security through its stringent audits. The wallet is linked to users’ eToro accounts, eliminating the complexities of cold storage wallets and the inconvenience of remembering a private key.
- Low fees – eToro charges a 1% flat rate for buying and selling.
- Social trading – eToro offers various social trading features, such as the ability to copy the trades of high-profile investors, and an in-built social news feed. In light of this, eToro claims to be “the world’s leading social trading network”.
Risks of buying Bitcoin on eToro
- Inactivity fee – eToro deviates from other market players in charging a monthly $10 inactivity fee after the account has been idle for 12 months. The activity fee will only be charged if there are funds remaining in the account balance.
- No crypto trading pairs – Unlike competitors such as Kraken, Coinbase and Binance, eToro does not offer trading pairs for cryptocurrency. Trading pairs allow investors to trade one cryptocurrency for another without needing to use a fiat currency.
- Volatility – Cryptocurrency is closely associated with high volatility. Bitcoin, for instance, has seen lows of $20,000 and highs of $67,000 within the past year. For this reason, crypto is considered to be highly risky relative to other asset classes.
- Lack of protection – Due to its decentralized nature, cryptocurrency payments do not carry the same legal and regulatory protections as other asset classes.
FAQs
Is eToro Safe for Bitcoin?
As far as online cryptocurrency brokers go, it is thought to be safe to buy Bitcoin on eToro.
eToro claims that its proprietary crypto wallet is fortified with “advanced signature mechanism” and “analytic behavior machine learning” in order to identify prospective threads and ensure safety.
That being said, investing in cryptocurrency is inherently risky due to it being a decentralized asset class. Therefore, no crypto exchange can offer completely risk-free crypto products.
How Much Does eToro Charge to Buy Bitcoin?
eToro charges a flat rate of 1% for all cryptocurrency transactions, including buying and selling. Other fees include a 2% charge for transferring cryptoassets, and a $5 withdrawal fee.
Does eToro Store Bitcoin?
eToro’s Crypto Money Wallet allows users to securely store a variety of cryptoassets on the platform.
