Kucoin vs eToro | What Are The Strengths Of Each Platform?
Jack Moreau
Mar 2024
7 min read
Fact checked
Kucoin vs eToro: This in-depth comparison will help you discover which exchanges offers more products and cryptocurrencies, who has lower trading fees and what type of deposit and withdrawal methods are available Keep reading to discover which exchange suits you best!
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
As the cryptocurrency market continues to grow, more and more exchanges are popping up to meet the demands of traders and investors.
Two of the most popular exchanges in the market today are Kucoin and eToro. While both exchanges offer users a range of features, they differ significantly in their approach to trading and investing.
Kucoin exchange
Let's begin with Kucoin which was founded in 2017 and registered in Seychelles. Kucoin has implemented support for over 700 large cap cryptocurrencies and altcoins which has earned it a customer base of over 20 million users.
Additionally, the exchange offers support for a wide range of crypto specific products and low spot trading fees of only 0.1%, making it an attractive option for traders looking to save on fees.
eToro has legal entities in the US, UK, EU and Australia and restrictions include for countries like Canada, China, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Russia and South Africa.
While the exchange does offer a selection of 80 cryptocurrencies, its main focus is on social trading and investing of a wide range of more traditional financial products such as stocks and ETFs.
eToro trading
With over 30 million users across 140 countries, eToro has created a platform that allows users to follow and copy the trades of successful investors, making it an ideal option for beginners or those looking to learn from the pros.
The exchange is also licensed by CySEC (Cyprus), FCA (UK), FINRA & SEC (US), ensuring a high level of security and compliance.
eToro app
While Kucoin and eToro offer different approaches to trading and investing, Kucoin's wide selection of cryptocurrencies and low trading fees make it an attractive option for experienced traders.
Meanwhile, eToro's focus on social trading and investing makes it an ideal platform for beginners or those looking to learn from the pros.
Kucoin vs eToro Signup & KYC
Are you looking for an exchange that offers an easy and quick signup process? Before you start trading, let's take a closer look at their KYC requirements and verification processes of both Kucoin and eToro.
Kucoin is one of the few exchanges that don't require KYC verification for trading. This means that even unverified accounts can buy and sell the same cryptocurrencies as verified accounts.
The signup process is easy to complete taking less than a minute as only basic email signup is required.
For those that wish to access more features on Kucoin, basic verification can be approved in hours while KYC verification can take up to 2-3 business days in the slowest of cases.
Kucoin KYC verification
eToro differs from Kucoin in that it requires KYC verification for trading from all of it's users. eToro's signup process takes a bit longer to complete as more information is requested.
To sign up, users just need to enter a username, email and confirm the email verification.
eToro KYC
To complete eToro KYC process, users will have to fill in personal details, objectives, verify their phone number and identify and provide proof of address.
This process takes a few minutes to complete. eToro's verification process can then take 1-2 business days but no longer than 1 week.
Kucoin or eToro: Products & Services
When it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges, there are many options but let's take a closer look at the products offered by Kucoin and eToro.
Kucoin has in a few years evolved into a powerhouse in the crypto market and today offers a similar product range to the likes of Binance.
At its core Kucoin offer a popular spot trading platform where its users can buy, sell and trade over 700 cryptocurrencies and altcoins.
Kucoin Spot Trading
This selection is vast and ever-growing with new and often elusive altcoins making their debut weekly. This makes Kucoin a great place for crypto enthusiasts eager to discover the next gem.
Kucoin Crypto Markets
For the thrill-seekers, Kucoin ramps up the excitement with margin trading with up to 10X leverage where users can long or short over 100 cryptocurrencies using either cross or isolated margin.
Kucoin Margin Trading
Kucoin also offers a lower risk product with its leveraged tokens which are perfect for those wanting to dip their toes in the leveraged trading with reduced risk.
Kucoin Leveraged Tokens
Here traders can take long or short positions with more modest leverage (2-4X), minus the headaches of loans or the risk of liquidation hanging over their heads. Futures trading on Kucoin has also evolved to now support over 250 tradable futures contracts.
Kucoin Futures
This includes everything from USDT and USDC margin contracts to Coin-margin contracts and innovative grid bots, all designed to cater to a wide spectrum of trading styles with up to 125X leverage,
Kucoin Perpetual Trading
Kucoin also seduces tech-savvy traders with a suite of trading bots like spot grid, futures grid, martingale, smart rebalance, infinity grid, and Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA).
Kucoin Trading Bots
In the realm of trading volumes, Kucoin ranks in the top 20 for spot trading with an impressive $1 billion in 24-hour volume and with over $2 billion in futures trading volume.
Kucoin Trading Volumes
Kucoin's earn section is a gold mine for those seeking to harvest yield from their digital assets. Here options like earn savings, staking, and dual investments offer passive income opportunities.
Kucoin Earn
The staking feature also offers staking rewards on popular blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, Polkadot, and Injective.
Kucoin Staking
Kucoin has also thrown its hat into the ring of new token launchpads where users can get access to early stage investments via Spotlight.
Kucoin Launchpad
Kucoin also offers Wonderland which is an NFT marketplace where users can buy and sell NFTs on the KCC blockchain and Polygon, with plans to expand to other blockchains like ETH, BSC, and SLP.
Kucoin NFTs
And for those renegades who sidestep traditional exchanges, Kucoin presents the non-custodial Halo Wallet which is a Web 3 portal available as a mobile app or a Chrome extension.
Kucoin Wallet
On the other hand, eToro stands as a comprehensive trading platform for both new and seasoned traders with an offering of over 3,000 financial assets and a wide range of trading tools.
For stock investors, eToro offers a collection of over 3,200 stocks from globally recognized companies like Amazon, Google, and Tesla.
eToro Stocks
eToro also facilitates trading across 50 international currencies, over 30 distinct commodities, and more than 20 primary stock indices. Indices, currencies and commodities are however not available to users in the United States.
eToro Currencies
eToro's platform opens the door to a crypto marketplace featuring over 70 cryptocurrencies with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and up-and-comers like Solana and Cosmos leading the pack.
eToro Cryptocurrencies
For those leaning towards ETF investments, eToro curates a selection of over 400 options, highlighting big players like SPDR S&P 500.
eToro ETFs
An added incentive for users is eToro's tiered interest on fiat currencies. Depending on the user's balance, they can enjoy annual interest rates between 1.5% to 5.3%.
eToro Earn
It's worth mentioning that this feature is currently exclusive to users in a handful of European countries including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands.
One of eToro's defining aspects is its vibrant community, comprising over 30 million traders from all corners of the globe. Complementing this community is the eToro Academy, a dedicated space full of educational content.
eToro Academy
Ensuring traders have the best tools at their disposal, eToro collaborates with TradingView to provide advanced charting capabilities.
The platform also offers features that help traders set profit goals and minimize potential losses. Stop Loss and Take Profit are not guaranteed.
eToro Trading Tools
Newbies to trading or those wishing to hone their skills can take advantage of eToro's demo mode. This simulated environment gifts users a virtual sum of $100,000 to practice their strategies without risk.
eToro Demo Trading
A standout feature that differentiates eToro is its CopyTrader system. This innovative tool lets users mirror the actions of experienced traders, serving as a bridge between learning and active trading.
eToro Copy Trading (Past performances are not an indication of future results)
Lastly, in keeping with the evolving digital landscape, eToro has ventured into NFTs with its Delta platform. This addition simplifies the otherwise complex world of NFTs, making it easy for users to buy and sell NFTs on Ethereum.
As the world of cryptocurrency trading continues to expand, more and more exchanges are popping up offering a variety of trading fees. Let's continue by looking at the trading fees offered by Kucoin and eToro.
Kucoin offers some of the lowest trading fees in the market. Their fees are as follows: 0.10% for makers and takers, 0.02% for makers trading futures and 0.06% for takers trading futures.
These fees put Kucoin in direct competition with some of the biggest exchanges in the world, such as Binance, OKX and Phemex.
Kucoin spot fees
Kucoin's trading fees can be furthered lowered for users who either hold a minimum amount of 1000 KCS tokens or whose trading volume exceeds 50 BTC during a 30-day period.
On the other hand, eToro charges a a simple 1% transaction fee for buying and selling cryptocurrencies. There are no rebates to be had on eToro and all users pay the same fees irrespective of trading volumes.
eToro Crypto Fees
While eToro trading fees are higher than eToro, it's important to note that users on eToro can deposit and withdraw fiat currencies for free which is not possible on Kucoin. Users on eToro can also trade stocks with 0% commission and no management or rollover fees.
When it comes to depositing fiat currencies on their respective exchange, both have their strengths and weaknesses.
Kucoin supports 28 fiat currencies for buying crypto which is significantly more than the 3 fiat currencies supported by eToro.
However, almost all fiat deposit options on Kucoin are with Visa and Mastercard which incurs a high 3.8% deposit fee.
For those who wish to buy cryptocurrencies without depositing fiat currencies, Kucoin also supports P2P trading and the option to buy and sell cryptocurrencies with card via third-party providers.
These options also come with high fees however.
In contrast, eToro supports deposits for fiat currencies such as USD, EUR and GBP. All fiat deposits are free of charge on eToro and it supports a wide range of payment options including Bank Transfer, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, and Debit Card. Conversion fee may however be applied as deposits are conducted in $.
Overall, while Kucoin supports a wider range of cryptocurrencies, their fees are much higher than eToro who offers free deposits with a wide range of deposit methods not available on Kucoin.
When it comes to fiat withdrawals, both Kucoin and eToro have their pros and cons. Kucoin only offers fiat withdrawals for EUR through SEPA but charges a 5 EUR fee to withdraw.
Meanwhile, eToro offers withdrawals to bank accounts or debit cards for USD, but charges a $5 withdrawal fee and has conversion fees for non-USD currencies.
In terms of withdrawal fees for cryptocurrencies, Kucoin charges a percentage fee based on the withdrawal amount, while eToro has a flat $5 fee regardless of the amount.
After analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of Kucoin and eToro, it's clear that both exchanges have their strengths and weaknesses.
Kucoin is a great option for experienced traders looking for platform with a wide selection of cryptocurrencies, low trading fees and wide range of crypto products.
On the other hand, eToro is a better option for beginners looking to learn from professional traders through its social trading platform and regulated licenses.
When it comes to signup and KYC requirements, Kucoin wins in terms of convenience and speed as it doesn't require KYC verification for trading.
However, eToro provides a more established and regulated platform for those who prioritize security and compliance.
In terms of products and services, Kucoin has a wider range of trading options, including spot, futures, perps, margin, options, and copy trading.
Meanwhile, eToro provides a more diverse trading platform, including cryptocurrencies, stocks, ETFs, as well as a demo account and copy trading capabilities.
Regarding trading fees, Kucoin is the clear winner with its low 0.1% fee for makers and takers 0.02% for futures trading.
While eToro 1% transaction fee for cryptocurrencies is higher, it's important to note that moving money in and out of Kucoin comes with high fees while that is free on eToro.
It's also worth knowing that eToro offers 0% commission trading for trading of stocks.
Disclaimer
Securities trading offered by eToro USA Securities, Inc. (“the BD”), member of FINRA and SIPC. Cryptocurrency offered by eToro USA LLC (“the MSB”) (NMLS: 1769299) and is not FDIC or SIPC insured.
Investing involves risk, and content is provided for educational purposes only, does not imply a recommendation, and is not a guarantee of future performance.
luckyaltcoin.com is not an affiliate and may be compensated if you access certain products or services offered by the MSB and/or the BD.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
Author
Jack Moreau
Jack is a crypto writer and reviewer who has been active in the space since he caught the crypto bug in 2017. With a passion for trying out new shiny things, Jack is always eager to try the latest cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets or DeFi applications.
Signup to eToro and Get $10 Bonus (US Only) when you deposit $100! eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
