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eToro, our favorite platform for trading with Zcash from Kenya
Why do we recommend it?
- Allows you to invest in plenty of other products
- eToro allows leverage
- It's really straightforward and intuitive
- You can replicate investment moves
- You can go short
Official homepage: www.etoro.com/zcash
If you are thinking about investing in Zcash from Kenya, eToro is probably the best option currently.
“Social trading”, a relatively new investment method that consists in replicating techniques and strategies from other experienced investors, has become popular because of eToro.
eToro has solutions for you, especially if you don't have much experience in trading. You can rest assured that you will be doing a smart investment move when replicating those from subjects with a long profit record. Also, in case you are an investor, the platform pays for your knowledge.
It is also very convenient how easy is to manage the platform, excellent for new traders who are starting in the investment world.
Have you heard the term “leverage”? Just in case, we'll define it shortly:
trading allows you to invest even more than what you really have. Let's say that you enter with $ 100 and you choose to leverage x2, the amount of your investment will be $ 200.
Leverage, Take Profit and Stop Loss
Let's say now that you are sure that Zcash is going to appreciate, thus you are thinking about “going long”.
You are certain that Zcash will go up, and you have $ 1,000 at that moment, but the fact is, you have the chance of investing more.
You could consider asking for a credit, but it is a process that takes time, and when you receive the money, Zcash might be already at a much higher price, so you wouldn't be able to invest the way you planned.
Leverage is exactly like a credit, but it is only a few clicks away! You will be able to operate with much more money than what you have on the platform. Before trading, you will how much leverage to use as in the image:
Within other markets, you can use more leverage. This is because cryptocurrencies are usually medium-long term investments, and leverage is used especially for short-term operations or day trading. But let's see how leverage works in the practice:
- If you decide to invest $ 1,000 and you use leverage x2, you will be starting with $ 2,000 (remember that$ 1,000 was borrowed from eToro).
- A few days later, Zcash does increases, as you assumed, and now the price of your investment is $ 2,400 (20% more), so you decide to sell back.
- The $ 1k of leverage will be deducted, and you will have $ 1,400 left; which means you've earned $ 400, since the other $1,000 was yours initially.
As you can see, with $ 1000 you get $ 400, in other words, 40% more. Not bad, right?
It may sound too good to be true. The thing is, you can also lose money. If everything goes as planned, you will earn profits in little time; but in the opposite case, you will also lose more really quickly.
For example: if instead of increasing by 20%, the price falls by 10%, you do not lose $ 10, but $ 20, because of the leverage. That is why the concepts of Take Profit and Stop Loss are crucial when operating with leverage.
Take Profit is used as a form of reducing risks when trading. When you enter, you can set a profit limit and ask that your position is automatically closed when the asset reaches a price.
If you bought Zcash at $ 100, you can ask eToro to close once it reaches $ 120. That way, you make sure you won't change your mind and decide to keep waiting in case it keeps rising, which could make you lose it all.
Stop Loss is even more necessary, particularly if you use leverage, because a reduced loss with leverage can be fatal for your wallet. Consider that eToro will recommend a limit for Stop Loss, but you should set it lower than that.
Is eToro reliable for purchasing Zcash?
eToro has been tested by independent organizations once and again to validate its fidelity in displaying performance statistics from previous users. And it has been confirmed every time that eToro is rigorous with the figures.
The main headquarters of eToro is in Cyprus, and therefore it is certified by the Cyprus Securities Market Commission (or CySEC), which covers debts up to € 20,000 from its clients. On the other hand, eToro meets all the strict requirements of the European Union.
eToro responds to the European Financial Instruments Market or MiFID, and to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the USA. You should also know that it has a trajectory of fifteen years, with more than 20 million users around the globe. So, yes, it is a safe broker.
It is also important to mention the great customer service. You can use the online chat, and they also have a phone number available for assistance.
eToro deposit methods
Within the payment methods that you will find on eToro are: credit card, PayPal, bank transfer, Neteller, and Skrill. Making a deposit with eToro is so simple: click “Deposit funds”, choose an amount and the payment method you prefer.
Of course, take into consideration that for security policies, you should be the holder of the account or the credit card.
The lowest amount you can deposit is $ 200, and there is a maximum allowed if you are not verified. Therefore, in case you want to trade with larger sums, you should verify your account previously.
eToro allows deposits in any currency, but you will have to pay a fee for the conversion to USD. So it is better to use USD directly.
eToro Interface
We mentioned before that one of the best things about eToro is how simple it is. You don't need to read a lot or have previous knowledge to start trading.
Everyone who has previously used social networks like Twitter or Facebook, knows enough to operate with the eToro interface.
Let's talk about how to register and the different tabs you will find on the platform.
When you open your account, you will have to enter all the information that eToro asks for: first and last name, address…
Also, you will see that they ask you some questions about your experience as an investor.
But you don't need to worry: it's not about passing an exam. They are only measures to know how much knowledge you have and what type of assets they can suggest. For instance, if it is your first experience in the investment world, they will not recommend that you invest in futures.
You will see a bar that says “incomplete profile” until you complete all the requested information.
Next, we will explain the fundamental sections of the platform.
With the “Set Price Alerts” tool, you'll be able to program an alert when an asset is at a certain price. Just click the tab and you will be able to set it. This is ideal in case you want to buy a security that is falling but you believe it will decrease even more.
In “News Feed”, users interact and share valuable information.
“Discover” includes the tabs “Instruments”, “People” and “CopyPortfolios”. As we mentioned previously, the financial instruments available on are:
- Cryptocurrencies
- ETFs
- Shares
- Raw materials
- Forex trading
- Index funds
In the tab “People”, you can find eToro users and their historical performance. This is where you can replicate with just one click the strategies of the investors that you find most inspiring.
Through the search engine, you can find the investors that you find more interesting: by average profits, types of assets or risk level, for instance. Just indicate the amount of your investment and eToro will replicate the movements of the selected investor, in proportion. “In proportion” means that if you have $ 1000 and the investor puts 10% of his or her balance in an asset, eToro will invest also 10% of your money (that is, $ 100) in that same asset.
Also, here you will see CopyPortfolios classified into three categories, Top Trader, Market, and Partner.
The advantage of copying to CopyPortfolios instead of particular traders is that this way you will diversify the risk. There are all kinds of portfolios that you can recognize easily and are classified by sectors. Thus, if you suspect a specific industry, like fashion or healthcare, has good chances to succeed, you should look for that specific portfolio.
Investment strategies
You can operate cryptocurrencies using several different methods: for instance, you can buy and hold, or you can day trade using volatility of the market to your advantage.
My suggestion for those who are starting to trade is going halfway between the two options: when you open your position, set a dynamic stop loss 15-20% below the top price, and let the rest happen on its own.
Therefore, if for example you acquire a cryptocurrency at $ 10, it goes up to $ 20 and then falls to $ 12, your operation will be closed at $ 16-17 and you will make a pretty good profit.
I know it might sound more appealing to sell when the price is at its highest, but unless you're psychic, that's impossible. The above strategy is much more down-to-earth and, well applied, it can work very well for you.
At some point, you can take your first steps with advanced investment techniques, like using leverage or going short.