While eToro and Binance both offer crypto trading, these are two different trading platforms. For one, eToro goes beyond crypto trading to offer stock trading among other investment instruments. eToro is also a regulated platform and comes with a practice account that you can use to test out your strategies.
Binance is more suited for the advanced crypto-centric trader who is looking for a platform with a plethora of cryptocurrencies to trade and a variety of options for depositing and withdrawing digital assets.
In this article, we will walk you through the various features you will find on eToro and Binance in a detailed guide that will help you make an informed decision on what platform suits you best.
eToro
The eToro trading platform has been around since its founding in 2007. This is a U.K based trading platform offering a variety of financial instruments for the emerging crypto industry as well as for investors and traders in traditional finance.
Apart from its offer for crypto trading, some of eToro’s outstanding features include forex trading, as well as a stocks and commodities trading platform. However, if you are in the U.S, you can only use the platform to trade cryptocurrencies due to regulatory restrictions.
With more than 17 million users spread across 100 countries, eToro boasts of attractive features such as a social trading platform that enables novice traders to copy the trading strategies of expert traders on eToro. What’s more, there is a chatting feature where traders get to interact, share ideas, and even view the current market sentiment based on various cryptocurrency trends.
eToro is also a fairly well-regulated trading platform with licenses from the Australian Securities and Exchange Commission as well as UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In terms of supported cryptocurrencies, crypto traders will be able to access over 20 supported cryptocurrencies on eToro. Furthermore, expect trading and transaction fees on the platform to vary based on a spread that may rise and fall in line with prevailing market conditions.
eToro Pros & Cons
Pros
1. Over 20 cryptocurrencies supported
2. Comes with an expansive network of social trading features
3. Intuitive user interface that is convenient for beginners
4. Offers several tools for learning and practice trading
5. High trust rating and well regulated
Cons
1. Crypto trading spreads are wide
2. No self-custody option
3. Relatively high fees on some crypto trades
4. Limited trading options for American users
Read more detailed eToro review here
Binance Overview
Binance is the golden child of the cryptocurrency space at the moment as the platform boasts of the highest trading volumes in the industry set at an approximate daily value of over $20 billion. Launched in 2017 at the height of the last market bull run, Binance is a fairly new exchange platform when compared to eToro but has managed to amass over 13 million users in the time of its existence.
There are a variety of trading tools to choose from on Binance, not to mention more than 350 supported cryptocurrencies to trade. Due to regulatory restrictions, there is a Binance platform for U.S traders as well as the international Binance exchange platform. The U.S platform comes with several restrictions, such as a support for only 50 cryptocurrencies.
Traders on Binance get to enjoy a mobile app that is available on Android and iOS devices and there is a desktop interface that gives access to sophisticated trading tools and investment instruments such as margin trading, a launchpad, and even a crypto-based derivatives trading market.
Binance Pros & Cons
Pros
1. Supports a wide variety of cryptocurrencies
2. Offers a crypto-based derivatives market
3. Features multiple crypto trading pairs
4. Reliable levels of liquidity
5. Features secure hot wallets enabled with 2FA
Cons
1. Not the best exchange for high volume crypto-traders
2. Its user interface requires a steeper learning curve
3. Higher withdrawal limits are only available to verified users
4. Complaints from users about site crashes
Read more detailed Binance review here
Beginner Friendliness
Right from the start, eToro stands out when it comes to an intuitive user interface, especially when compared to Binance. Simply put, eToro goes above and beyond to create a beginner-friendly trading environment. Some of its top features in regards to ease of use include a social trading feature that allows beginners to copy the trades of serious, more experienced traders.
Although accessing this feature requires a minimum deposit of $200, there are other free tools such as a market sentiment calculator as well as a practice trade platform with $100,000 for beginners to play with.
Binance, on the other hand, features a pretty sophisticated user interface with advanced charts and tools that are more inclined to the advanced trader. Granted, placing orders and setting up trading strategies is easy; however, there is somewhat of a steep learning curve involved.
Trust & Security
Over the years of its existence, eToro has earned the trust of traders in the crypto space as well as in traditional finance. The platform is regulated by U.K’s FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) as well as the Australian Securities and Exchange Commission (ASIC). eToro also boasts of segregated storage of all funds on its platforms, meaning that investors’ and traders’ funds are protected even if eToro goes bankrupt. The brokerage firm also deploys the highest cyber security standards to protect clients’ funds.
Binance, on the other hand, is not a regulated platform and has been hit by a raft of regulatory challenges worldwide in the recent past. Regulators in most jurisdictions have declared that Binance is operating without permission. What’s more, in 2019, Binance was hacked, and hackers stole about 7,000 bitcoins from the exchange platform. Although the hack was mostly caused by the loss of 2FA credentials from users, it served as a good reminder that centralized exchanges are not ideal for storing large amounts of funds.
Binance has since ramped up efforts to increase security on its platform and offers an insurance cover for lost assets with its Secure Asset Fund.
Fees
Binance charges the lowest fees of the two trading platforms. The platform comes with a spot trading fee of 0.1% and a 0.5% fee for instant buy or sell orders. Debit card transactions will add a 4.5% fee and other fees may apply based on your location. There are discounted fees for traders who pay their transaction fees using the Binance Coin, which is the native cryptocurrency of the Binance platform.
eToro, on the other hand, features a trading fee that varies between 0.75% and 2.9% based on existing market conditions. Also, given that eToro is an online brokerage firm, fees for trading stocks and other financial instruments are calculated differently as they are based on a spread and a traded volume-based commission.
Sign-Up Process
The sign-up process on both eToro and Binance is quite straightforward to complete. After you have your account registered on both platforms, you will be required to complete KYC and AML processes. On eToro, this will take a couple of minutes.
Binance features a system that ranks accounts based on the level of verification those users have completed. Users who have completed all levels of account verification get higher withdrawal limits. Top-tier verification is done manually and could take a few days.
Available Cryptocurrencies
Binance takes the win when it comes to diversity in the number of supported crypto assets. With over 350 crypto assets supported, Binance is one of the most diverse crypto exchanges in the crypto universe.
eToro, on the other hand, offers a fairly high number of supported cryptocurrencies but only when compared to other online brokerage firms such as Robinhood and Tradestation. However, when compared to the likes of Binance, eToro’s list of supported crypto assets falls short.
eToro currently supports about 29 cryptocurrencies, including but not limited to the following:
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Ripple
- Dash
- Litecoin
- Cardano
- Neo
- Ethereum Classic
Standout Features
eToro stands out for its ability to offer a variety of trading and investment instruments without letting the sophisticated and complex nature of its offerings get in the way. Simply put, eToro’s social trading platform, as well as trading practice platform, add to the simplicity that beginners can expect to enjoy while using the platform.
Binance, on the other hand, stands out for its offering of a variety of crypto assets to trade, as well as its offer of margin trading, derivatives trading, and other sophisticated crypto-based trading tools.
Conclusion:
In a race to see which trading platform offers the best crypto trading features, eToro and Binance go neck to neck.
Both offer reliable crypto trading platforms with a range of investment instruments that are suitable for most crypto traders. In the end, Binance is going to be the far superior option for experienced crypto traders. The fact that eToro does not offer self-custody for crypto will be a non-starter for serious crypto users.
It’s worth mentioning, however, eToro goes further to offer a more secure, user-friendly experience with tools that facilitate easy learning and trading.