Coinbase v Etoro

w00519772

I understand all of the risks with Bitcoin. I have a small amount of money left over at the end of each month and I am thinking about investing a small amount (that I can afford to lose) in either Bitcoin or Litecoin.

My research has found the two platforms: Coinbase and Etoro. I would be interested to hear reviews about them. I would also be interested to hear if there are any other (perhaps cheaper) reputable brokers. My questions are:

1) What are the costs of these platforms?
2) Is it possible to wrap them in a stocks and shares ISA?
3) Can I transfer an existing Stocks and shares ISA to any of them?
4) Does anyone have any reviews? I have looked here: https://www.etoro.com/en/customer-service/fees/. However, I do not understand what a pip is and I do not understand the + and - for buying and selling.

jimjames

If you have money left over at the end of the month, do you already have sufficient emergency cash savings? Before taking a gamble I'd make sure that was sorted first.

You can't hold bitcoins in an ISA but you can buy a bitcoin tracker and hold that in one.

Alexland

From seeing occasional Etoro YouTube adverts I wouldn't trust them with a penny of my money. They reminded me of slimy estate agents who would sell their granny for a quick buck. Or the cheap gardener who just happened to be in the area. But they may be best of a bad bunch who knows?

Bitcoin his a currency not an investment. It's no different than holding a load of Euros except there's a mad bubble going on. Unlike owning a share of a company there is no intrinsic earning power and unlike real assets they don't hold their value because anyone needs them. Just the hope of finding a greater fool to buy them next.

Alex.

jimjames

Alexland wrote: »

Bitcoin his a currency not an investment. It's no different than holding a load of Euros except there's a mad bubble going on.

I think it's misleading when Bitcoin is called a currency. It's not any use as currency when the value changes so much. I think the term Crypto asset is probably more appropriate as some have likened it to gold.

Owen1991

I would go with Coinbase, however they charge some big fees to buy, I believe its 2.5%.

However through Coinbase you can set up an account on gdax which is free to trade on using limit buys and sells.

Theres plenty of videos showing you how to avoid fees by using gdax.

EDIT: You can only do SEPA transfers from the UK onto gdax though which take a few days to clear. Coinbase you can just buy with a debit card (up to £500s worth).