eToro, our favorite option for acquiring Stellar from USA
Some of its benefits are:
- Really intuitive and straightforward
- You can imitate investment tactics
- Accepts “shorting” or short-selling
- Leverage is allowed
- There are tons of possibilities for investments
Go to the official page in English: www.etoro.com/stellar
In case you are thinking about obtaining Stellar from USA, eToro is probably the best way to do it.
eToro is popular for making “social trading” fashionable, an ingenious way of investing in which traders can repeat the strategies of other investors who have been generating income for a long time.
If you are still a rookie or do not have much experience in investments, eToro is great for you, because it puts your investment on automatic by emulating moves from other experienced people with a very long profit history. Additionally, in case you are an investor, the platform pays for your knowledge.
Besides, this platform is completely intuitive, great for those who want to start in the Stellar universe, without ending up overwhelmed with tons of diagrams and numbers.
About ETFs
ETFs or Exchange-Traded Funds are a kind of passively managed fund, similar to index funds. We can say that ETFs are halfway between stocks and funds: they are publicly traded, that means they can be exchanged at any time at market price. However, their main benefit is that they offer more alternatives compared to stocks, and have lower fees.
What are ETFs?
Exchange-Traded Funds or ETFs are a kind of passively managed fund, similar to index funds. We can say that ETFs are somewhere between stocks and funds: they are publicly traded, that means they can be exchanged at any time at market price. Their main benefit is that they are more diversified compared to stocks, and have lower fees.
Currency market
Forex or currency trading is the exchange between a pair of currencies in order to gain money.
If you decide to trade euros and dollars, for example, you speculate how many dollars it will take to buy a euro, therefore you expect that after obtaining the first currency (the euro) it will raise its price compared to the second (the dollar), to make a profit by selling it. Let's say you entered when the price of one euro is 1.10 USD and you exit when it reaches 1.15: that margin is yours once you make the operation.
You may be thinking that operating with currencies requires investing considerable amounts, and you are not wrong, since fluctuation in prices is never that dramatic, and if you use a lot of leverage to counter that, you will take a considerable risk. In case you are just starting in trading, it is not a good idea to begin with this market, because it's not the safest alternative.
You can exchange with almost every popular currency on eToro but consider that in this market sales are made through contract for differences, therefore you will not be the owner of the real asset.
How to deposit funds into your eToro account
When it comes to payment on eToro, there isn't really much to say, since it is pretty simple. You just have to click “Deposit funds”, put an amount, and choose the payment option you prefer. You can use PayPal, bank transfer, credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Diners, Visa Electron and Maestro), Skrill, or Neteller.
Consider that for security policies, you must be the holder of the credit card or the account.
The minimum first time deposit is $ 200, and there is a maximum limit for unverified accounts. Thus, if your intention is to deposit higher amounts, you should contact Support to verify your account.
You can pay in any currency and eToro will do the conversion to USD. Nevertheless, we suggest depositing directly in USD since the platform charges a commission for the conversion.
How does eToro work?
We mentioned before that eToro is very easy to manage. Anyone can start using it without having to read endless explanations.
If you have used before any of the most popular social networks today, you can perfectly manage eToro's interface.
We will explain the registration steps and the different tabs that you will find.
You will have to provide some personal data (like full name or address, for instance) when registering.
Additionally, you will see that they ask you some questions about your experience as an investor.
However, it's not like they're testing you or anything. They are only measures to know how much knowledge you have and what type of financial instruments they can suggest. For instance, if you have never invested before, they will not recommend that you invest in futures.
When you fill in all your information in your profile, the “incomplete profile” bar will disappear.
Let's see what the different sections of the platform are.
With the “Set Price Alerts” tool, you'll be able to program an alarm when an asset is at a certain price. Just click the tab and you will be able to set it. This is helpful if you want to purchase a security and you are waiting for it to decrease.
The section “News Feed” allows users to interact and share their experiences and knowledge.
In “Discover” you will find: “Instruments”, “People” and “CopyPortfolios”. As we discussed in this guide, the types of financial instruments that eToro offers are:
- Cryptocurrencies
- ETFs
- Shares
- Raw materials
- Forex
- Index funds
The term “social trading” makes sense within “People”: that is where you can duplicate the movements of any investor you choose with just one click.
You can search and find users according to your interests. When you select an investor and indicate how much money you want to invest, eToro will automatically replicate their movements, proportionally. If you have $ 1000 and the trader puts 20% of their funds in an asset, the platform will invest $ 200 of your balance in the same asset as well.
You will also see the three main types of CopyPortfolios, which are “Top Trader”, “Market” and “Partner”.
Sometimes you might prefer copying to CopyPortfolios than to individuals, since the former offer more diversity. There are all kinds of portfolios that you can find easily and are divided by sectors. Therefore, in case you suspect a specific sector, such as e-commerce or healthcare, has a good chance of prospering, you should probably look for that specific portfolio.
Demo account: How does it work?
In case you are beginning as an investor, you can start by practicing with a “demo” option. You just have to make sure that the “Virtual” option is set in the upper left corner and your operations will be carried out with “imaginary” funds.
This can be a great way of practicing before starting to trade with real money. The platform will give you an amount of $ 100.000 (“fake” or virtual, of course) to begin with, and you will be able to operate with all the different assets available on eToro, not only with Stellar.
Don't worry, since if you lose all your virtual funds, you can contact support so they can add them back to your demo account and you can make a second attempt.
Take into account that you should always be prudent when investing, and perhaps a practice account can prevent you from controlling your impulses. It will never be the same as risking your own money.
As you may suppose, if you want to invest in the medium or long-term, with earnings almost assured just by duplicating an index, it doesn't make sense that you invest in the virtual mode and wait for years. On the other hand, short and medium-term trading is ideal to try out with the virtual mode.