If you’d purchased a dollar’s worth of Bitcoin a day for nine years, you’d now have $18 million. With headlines like that hitting the financial pages, it should come as little surprise that the crypto market is attracting new buyers at an ever faster rate.
Of course, there are just as many headlines that tell the opposite story, warning of the dire potential consequences that come with Bitcoin’s legendary volatility. Still, it’s only natural that the thought persists – a dollar a day, what have you got to lose?
Rallying Crypto Market
As if historical evidence that shows a potential return of 550,000 percent isn’t enough, there is also the remarkable performance that cryptocurrencies in general, and Bitcoin in particular, have enjoyed over the past six months. Back in January, a Bitcoin was trading at around $3,500, and by early July, the price was nudging $13,000. Despite all the talk of Bitcoin’s growing domination over Altcoins, it is worth noting that over the same period, Ethereum went from $105 to more than $300 and Litecoin from $30 to $150.
We all saw how rapidly the price fell from those highs, but that is a natural consequence of crypto’s inherent volatility, and nothing that seasoned traders have not seen time and again. The overall trajectory is one that it is hard to argue against, and it is only natural that those who are new to the market, or at least to cryptocurrency trading, are eager to get a piece of the action.
Crypto Trading Tools That Open Up a World of Possibilities
If it was simply a case of looking at the price charts or reading about Bitcoin millionaires and $80 million pizzas, the chances are that far more amateur traders would already be riding the crypto bandwagon. The biggest constraint to date, however, has been that crypto is seen as a specialist area, one in which fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Yet a new breed of trading tools and apps is changing all that.
The introduction of platforms like eToro onto the US market has opened up a world of possibilities to new traders, and in particular to millennials and those in Generation Z who have grown up around social media and smartphone apps. Using an app for trading is, in itself, nothing ground-breaking. The essential functionality of eToro ticks all the right boxes. The interface is uncluttered, there are plenty of charts and tools for analysis and the tool is available on desktop or mobile. All good so far.
But it is the social trading aspect that has really made eToro stand out from the crowd in its native Europe, and that is now causing such a stir in the US trading community. For anyone who has ever thought to themselves that they would like to have a go at crypto trading but wouldn’t know what to do, it presents a simple solution.
What is Social Trading?
In essence, social trading works along similar lines to the social networks with which we are all familiar. But instead of exchanging videos about cats falling off chairs or photos of cakes, a social trading network is used to share and exchange trading ideas.
For those who have some existing experience and knowledge of the cryptocurrency market, it is a useful platform on which to discuss the topics of the day and, perhaps, to pick up some useful tips. But for less experienced traders, it can make what would otherwise be a daunting step into the unknown far more approachable. It also significantly reduces the inherent risk that has previously left inexperienced traders licking their wounds after their first encounters with the crypto markets.
This is because the eToro platform allows users to learn from the experts. eToro’s Popular Investor Program provides the opportunity to take the lead from the most successful traders on the platform, learning from their success and shadowing their trading activities.
The Popular Investor Program brings benefits to all parties. Those who are new to trading get to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of those with more experience. The most copied traders, meanwhile, are rewarded with a bonus that goes up as their list of followers grows. It makes for a virtuous circle and a strong, successful trading community.
In addition, eToro launched its copytrading platform in the U.S. Here, it is possible to view the portfolios of US traders and at the click of a button, a trader is able to copy the investment decisions of whichever US user they wish. The mechanics of doing so are simple enough. The app provides a straightforward way to find traders whose patterns and risk appetite are a good mix for an individual’s trading needs. The user will be able to use a section called “Editor’s Choice” to identify the most popular traders for copytrading.
The eToro app also provides a social news feed that keeps community members apprised of what is happening, both in the trading world and within their unique social trading community among the members.
A New Wave of Crypto Traders
For years, the biggest barrier to cryptocurrency trading for new investors has been that fear of the unknown and the risk of making a bad decision through inexperience or lack of information. Apps like eToro are leading the way in breaking down these barriers. They do so by providing up to the minute information on the news feed, charts and graphs that are simple to interpret, and most important of all, the ability to watch, learn from and follow the trading activities of those who have learned it all the hard way.
As Bitcoin in particular and cryptocurrency in general continues to rally, this innovative technology is opening up a world of possibilities. Suddenly, even the most conservative, risk-averse or inexperienced trader can confidently add crypto to his or her portfolio with as good a chance as anyone else of reaping the financial rewards.
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