eToro launches Bitcoin trade

[keithers]

Doesn't look neutered from here, and I'm in the US. 

They're offering Paypal to bitcoin, but only buy/sell Bitcoin four times a day so they don't guarantee price.

Only stipulation I can see is that it has to be paypal backed up by a debit card rather than a credit card. 

hmmm..that sounds less than good.  Did you end up buying any bitcoin through them?

I don't think you can. You're just betting.

oh really?  I didn't know that...I am really uneducated on the services etoro provides...I just browsed their website and it looks open to US citizens, but I didn't have time to really look around and read into what they are offering.   I just saw from the front page the ability to work with gold, oil, bitcoin, etc...

[Cryddit]

hmmm..that sounds less than good.  Did you end up buying any bitcoin through them?

I did not.  I prefer to buy local, ie, in person, at a local cafe, over a cuppa coffee or something that we'll finish while we shoot the breeze and the tx matures. Much nicer than going through escrow and paying localbitcoins.com etc.

[Thom]

Wider adoption = good.

Investing in BTC's value @ etoro instead of investing in BTC = wtf.

[bitpop]

Wider adoption = good.

Investing in BTC's value @ etoro instead of investing in BTC = wtf.

Etoro is more like a casino

[frga13]

Wider adoption = good.

Investing in BTC's value @ etoro instead of investing in BTC = wtf.

Etoro is more like a casino

Most of the stock trades are like a casino 

[Thom]

Wider adoption = good.

Investing in BTC's value @ etoro instead of investing in BTC = wtf.

Etoro is more like a casino

Most of the stock trades are like a casino 

Then I'll bet a dollar on the house turning a profit. Let it ride.

[battlescars]

Etoro is a great tool@ I really like how they launched the trade it makes trading much more easier for BTC,
well this is a good move im very happy , good luck making money people. hah:)

[glub0x]

you can't withdraw Btc, but when i "bet" on btc, they have to buy some at some point right?
Otherwise if bitcoin shoot up and i clear my "investment" they will go bankrupt.

[qfdev]

Had a very bad experience so far with ETORO.. Although admittedly in some part due to me diving in and not reading anything

I setup an account uploaded $50, attempted to buy some Bitcoin, at which point I realised that ETORO is essentially just a spread-betting CFD platform. I am now trying to withdraw the $50 and close my account but I can't until I've completed the ID verification and Money Laundering checks...This page constantly errors out and I'm stuck now speaking to some drone in their support center who keeps pointing me back to the withdraw funds guide!! Massive waste of time!

[bitpop]

Yeah people don't waste your time. If you want to bet, do it by having bitcoins in your hands.

[indy999]

Cool

[BruceWayne]

Wow, Bitcoin EFT, just what we needed! In no time we'll have 2.1 billion BTC (100x) in IOU's like with the paper silver market.

Hi There

I'm Amos and i manage the trading department in eToro and part of the Colored Coins team.
As a bitcoin fans and big part of the bitcoin community our goal is to open Bitcoin to the mass.

You are basing your comment on facts that are not true. For each Bitcoin CFD that one is buying using eToro platform we buy one bitcoin in one of the exchanges.
There is not leverage and betting here.

So a simple guy who want to hold Bitcoin and gain from the price movement just like EUR/USD or AAPL stock can buy Bitcoins and hold them without worry about security or trying to understand how the wallet works.
It's the easiest way to approach the mass and give them the ability to enjoy the price movements under a regulated and safe environment ( FCA/CYSEC)

Amos

[BruceWayne]

Had a very bad experience so far with ETORO.. Although admittedly in some part due to me diving in and not reading anything

I setup an account uploaded $50, attempted to buy some Bitcoin, at which point I realised that ETORO is essentially just a spread-betting CFD platform. I am now trying to withdraw the $50 and close my account but I can't until I've completed the ID verification and Money Laundering checks...This page constantly errors out and I'm stuck now speaking to some drone in their support center who keeps pointing me back to the withdraw funds guide!! Massive waste of time!

Hi

I'm sorry you feel that way, we have no attention to misleading our clients.
Could you please PM you'r user in eToro and i will help?

Amos
eToro

[bitpop]

I don't believe it. Their forex platform is betting, they hold no currency. And they're banned in the usa. Lastly, having an anonymous username when representing a company is shady as Fuck.

[BruceWayne]

I don't believe it. Their forex platform is betting, they hold no currency. And they're banned in the usa. Lastly, having an anonymous username when representing a company is shady as Fuck.

one of eToro's core values is transparency-  we make sure that all trades on our system are displayed publicly here : https://openbook.etoro.com/
Our execution policy is available here -  http://www.etoro.com/en/customer-service/regulation-license/  and audited by our regulator .

This is my private username, i saw this msg and i wanted to provide you with additiona information.

the following differentiate eToro from BTC exchanges:

1. you can withdraw your Bitcoins only with Fiat - not Bitcoins
2. You don't need to be concerned about security. your funds are safe with eToro.
3. You invest using your credit card.
4. You deposit your funds with a regulated entity.

 Any questions feel free to ask
  

[bitpop]

Then prove your holdings publicly with signed messages.

[yoniassia]

Hi Bitcoiners,

I am Yoni Assia, the ceo and founder of eToro, and I am very happy we recently laucnhed bitcoin on our social investment network.

We have been following bitcoin since 2010, and are one of the few regulated financial institutions that offer investments into bitcoin.

eToro is the largest social investment network with 3.2M users, and is a regulated  financial institution (UK FCA, CYSEC and across Europe Australia ASIC), as a regulated company we have KYC policies as well as customer funds safe keeping policies.

The main advatage of investing in bitcoin through etoro, is that opening an account in eToro takes few seconds and you can  deposit with a credit card, PayPal etc’ and follow Bitcoin investors from all around the world. We currently offer investing without leverage so the risk is similair to holding bitcoin at any bitcoin exchange.

When you invest in Bitcoin at eToro, eToro buys the actual Bitcoins and holds them, we work with existing bitcoin exchanges and have our own cold storage facility. This is not different than an account balance at a bitcoin exchnage (it is different than a bitcoin wallet).
 
At this stage, you cannot withdraw your funds as Bitcoins, so if you want to actually spend and use the Bitcoins, you should buy them at traditional exchanges.
 
Find out more on trading Bitcoin at eToro here: https://openbook.etoro.com/markets/btc/ and in our blog http://www.etoro.com/blog/product-updates/13012014/bitcoin-arrived/
 
Anyway, we would be happy to answer any of your questions using any of the following channels:
 
1) Customer Service wall (https://openbook.etoro.com/customerservice/overview/)
2) On-line FAQ and chat with us (http://www.etoro.com/en/help/)
3) If you have an account and any issues open a ticket and write to us (http://www.etoro.com/support/)
4) I have also asked our customer service to setup an official user on bitcointalk to help users here if needed

Regarding the comments on CFD's, CFDs are regulated financial instrument, any type of trading bears risk and offcourse of counterparty (expect owning bitcoin directly in a wallet - AKA the genious of bitcoin).
 
Thanks,
Yoni Assia
https://openbook.etoro.com/YoniAssia/
@yoniassia

[bitpop]

Very nice. You guys have a chance to become an established exchange too before it's too late if you're interested.

[qfdev]

Had a very bad experience so far with ETORO.. Although admittedly in some part due to me diving in and not reading anything

I setup an account uploaded $50, attempted to buy some Bitcoin, at which point I realised that ETORO is essentially just a spread-betting CFD platform. I am now trying to withdraw the $50 and close my account but I can't until I've completed the ID verification and Money Laundering checks...This page constantly errors out and I'm stuck now speaking to some drone in their support center who keeps pointing me back to the withdraw funds guide!! Massive waste of time!

Hi

I'm sorry you feel that way, we have no attention to misleading our clients.
Could you please PM you'r user in eToro and i will help?

Amos
eToro

In the interest of balance, I can now confirm that an EToro representative has contacted me and confirmed that they will refund my balance and close my account. I just got very nervous taking this any further for fear that I may end up owing more than I put in...I'm no expert on CFD but I was warned that there are risks you can end up owing more due to margin calls. TBH as soon as I discovered that I will not be holding any BTC I lost interest!

[FrictionlessCoin]

Hi Bitcoiners,

I am Yoni Assia, the ceo and founder of eToro, and I am very happy we recently laucnhed bitcoin on our social investment network.

We have been following bitcoin since 2010, and are one of the few regulated financial institutions that offer investments into bitcoin.

eToro is the largest social investment network with 3.2M users, and is a regulated  financial institution (UK FCA, CYSEC and across Europe Australia ASIC), as a regulated company we have KYC policies as well as customer funds safe keeping policies.

The main advatage of investing in bitcoin through etoro, is that opening an account in eToro takes few seconds and you can  deposit with a credit card, PayPal etc’ and follow Bitcoin investors from all around the world. We currently offer investing without leverage so the risk is similair to holding bitcoin at any bitcoin exchange.

When you invest in Bitcoin at eToro, eToro buys the actual Bitcoins and holds them, we work with existing bitcoin exchanges and have our own cold storage facility. This is not different than an account balance at a bitcoin exchnage (it is different than a bitcoin wallet).
 
At this stage, you cannot withdraw your funds as Bitcoins, so if you want to actually spend and use the Bitcoins, you should buy them at traditional exchanges.
 
Find out more on trading Bitcoin at eToro here: https://openbook.etoro.com/markets/btc/ and in our blog http://www.etoro.com/blog/product-updates/13012014/bitcoin-arrived/
 
Anyway, we would be happy to answer any of your questions using any of the following channels:
 
1) Customer Service wall (https://openbook.etoro.com/customerservice/overview/)
2) On-line FAQ and chat with us (http://www.etoro.com/en/help/)
3) If you have an account and any issues open a ticket and write to us (http://www.etoro.com/support/)
4) I have also asked our customer service to setup an official user on bitcointalk to help users here if needed

Regarding the comments on CFD's, CFDs are regulated financial instrument, any type of trading bears risk and offcourse of counterparty (expect owning bitcoin directly in a wallet - AKA the genious of bitcoin).
 
Thanks,
Yoni Assia
https://openbook.etoro.com/YoniAssia/
@yoniassia

Selling bitcoin 'naked' would actully be a very dangerous game.  So it is highly likely that you do acquire your own BTC.

In terms of colored coins,  I would like to refer you to iXcoin that is currently in the development of a native implementation of colored coins.  This native implementation is secured by a network with a hash rate of 10 peta has per second (40% of Bitcoin).  Furthermore,  a native implementation will permit secure light weight clients based on SPV.   

Cheers!