eToro brought its social trading platform to the US crypto market on Thursday, opening access to customers in 32 states and territories. The move marks the brokerage's entry into digital asset trading
eToro brought its social trading platform to the US crypto market on Thursday, opening access to customers in 32 states and territories. The move marks the brokerage's entry into digital asset trading, extending the social features that have defined its traditional market operations.
The platform launches with 13 cryptocurrencies available for trading: bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, ripple, dash, bitcoin cash, stellar lumens, ethereum classic, NEO, EOS, cardano, and zcash. The company plans to add more coins as the year progresses.
Two core features separate eToro's crypto offering from standard exchanges. CopyTrader replicates the portfolio allocations of traders users select. CopyPortfolios bundles assets together around a single strategy that eToro's own analysts have curated. The platform offers three crypto portfolios at launch, with more coming as the company expands its asset offerings.
Complementing the trading platform, eToro released a multisignature wallet that holds six cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, bitcoin cash, ripple, and stellar lumens. Users can transfer coins from trading accounts and swap between different assets through the wallet.
eToro was founded in 2006 and operates from Europe. The platform functions as a social network where investors share their real portfolios and track records with each other. Users follow and copy the strategies of successful traders, while those traders earn fees when others adopt their approaches. The company reports more than 10 million registered users.
CEO Yoni Assia has positioned himself as a crypto advocate for years. He described the US launch as "a bridge between the old world of investing and a blockchain-powered future, helping our users navigate and benefit from the transition to cryptoassets for wealth building." According to Assia, all asset classes will be tokenized, and blockchain will reshape how financial markets operate.
eToroX, the company's blockchain and digital asset division, leads this expansion. The subsidiary received a blockchain technology license from Gibraltar's financial regulator in December 2018. eToroX manages the new wallet and will operate a global digital exchange eToro plans to debut later this year.
Assia positions the exchange as extending eToro's traditional success into digital markets. "Just as eToro has opened up traditional markets for investors, we want to do the same in a tokenized world and the creation of eToroX will help us do this," he said. "We are just taking the first steps on this journey."
