Investment and trading platform, eToro, announced moving to the USA. Currently, the broker’s services are not available in the States due to strict SEC restrictions.
Initially, users will be offered investment opportunities in ten cryptocurrencies, and more will be added throughout 2018. On the top of that, users will gain access to social trading tools, CopyFund and community feed which enabled them to engage with other users.
Initially, customers will be able to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, Dash, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, Ethereum Classic, NEO, and EOS.
“eToro is one of the leading online brokers that combines multiple asset classes. We see tremendous opportunities in the US crypto space. We believe that an expansion into the US is only a natural next step for our company.”
– Yoni Assia, CEO of eToro
Users will be able to access the cryptocurrency market in three different ways:
- By manually investing in cryptocurrency
- Copying the trading strategy from other traders
- Investing in CryptoCopy Fund
eToro’s launch in the US has been anticipated by many, and the platform is currently at the stage of gathering necessary regulatory requirements, although FinCEN already certifies it.
eToro Will Open Cryptocurrency Exchange and Wallet
The US expansion comes soon after the company announced a US$100 million funding round to support its global expansion as well as the development of blockchain-based technologies. But, this is not the end of all of the new features.
Currently, users can invest in cryptocurrency but they cannot withdraw it as the platform doesn’t offer an integrated wallet. Instead, eToro stores clients’ assets in its own so-called cold storage solution, which involves taking crypto keys offline.
Hence, one of the explosion plans is to include a cryptocurrency exchange and wallet for users to have full ownership of their assets:
“A customer can currently buy on eToro, but until today we didn’t actually enable our customers to send and receive cryptocurrencies. We are one of the largest regulated financial institutions that deal with both cryptos and stocks and commodities, we needed to make sure that we did very rigorous testing and had regulatory approval that enabled users to send and receive cryptocurrencies. “
– Yoni Assia, CEO, and co-founder of eToro
The exchange will be launched later on this year, and it will also support smaller tokens.
One of the most significant advantages eToro has over the majority of other trading platforms is the broad range of extra features, especially educational material:
“We are quickly moving toward a tokenised world, and digital investment platforms need to provide access to the assets investors want, allow the sharing of knowledge, and make transactions easy. eToro is committed to helping our users become better educated about both the risks and rewards that cryptocurrencies present, thereby enabling them trade and invest responsibly and successfully.”
– Guy Hirsch, Managing Director of eToro’s USA
The broker will continue focusing on simplicity and user-friendliness, ensuring that the platform is welcoming to traders with different experience levels.
Opening an Account With eToro in The US
Before the platform goes live, users will have access to the demo account and trading in a mock cryptocurrency portfolio. During the trial, they will also be able to match their portfolio with one of the top traders automatically, and the account will be verified.
The minimum investment is $25. Debit cards and ACH will be usable at launch, and eToro will work on supporting credit cards at a later date.
Founded in 2006, eToro U.S.A will be based in New Jersey. The platform lets users buy, hold and sell their assets including ETFs, stocks and cryptocurrencies. The platform boasts a community of more than ten million people.
Although eToro announced moving to the USA, it remains unclear when the company will officially make its debut on the US soil.
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