eToro

Is eToro safe?

eToro is a properly regulated broker that keeps client money and shares apart from its own, and since May 2025 its parent has been listed on Nasdaq with audited accounts. We score it 75/100. How safe you are depends a lot on where you live. A UK client of eToro (UK) Ltd has FSCSDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary cover up to £85,000. An EU client of eToro (Europe) Ltd has only €20,000 from the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund, the minimum the EU allows.

The other catch is the product. eToro mixes real shares with CFDs, and much of its regulatory trouble has come from how it sold CFDs, not from how it holds client assets.

Which eToro company am I with?

Where you live	Company	Regulator	Compensation if assets are missing
United Kingdom	eToro (UK) Ltd	FCA (FRN 583263)	FSCSDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary, up to £85,000
EU and EEA	eToro (Europe) Ltd	CySEC (licence 109/10), MiCAMiCAThe EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, which requires crypto exchanges and other providers to be licensed and supervised.More in the glossary for crypto	Cyprus ICF, up to €20,000
United States	eToro USA Securities Inc. (shares), eToro USA LLC (crypto)	SEC, FINRA; state money-transmitter licences	SIPC for securities; crypto not covered
Australia	eToro AUS Capital Limited	ASIC	No equivalent scheme
Some other countries	eToro (Seychelles) Ltd	Financial Services Authority Seychelles	None comparable

We score the UK and EU entities, which serve most clients. If your account opening documents name eToro (Seychelles), you are with an offshore company under a much lighter regime than the FCA or CySEC.

The schemes pay out only if eToro fails and client money or assets have gone missing. They do not cover trading losses. Segregation is the first line of defence: eToro's 20-F says it must hold client money and assets in segregated accounts at banks, custodians and brokers, with daily reconciliations. eToro says client cash held at partner banks in the EEA may also be covered by that bank's deposit scheme, often up to €100,000, if the bank itself fails.

Real shares versus CFDs

On eToro, buying a share without leverage gets you the real share, held in your name by eToro as nominee. Opening a leveraged or short position gets you a contract for difference instead: a bet on the price, with eToro as your counterparty. CFDs are not shares and give you no ownership. eToro's own warning in October 2026 said 51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with it; the figure changes each quarter. That is a product risk rather than a safety failing, so it does not lower the score by itself, but it explains the regulatory record below.

Crypto is a third category, covered on our eToro crypto page. No compensation scheme covers it.

Regulatory record

• United States, September 2024. The SEC found that eToro USA LLC had operated an unregistered broker and clearing agency by letting customers trade crypto assets offered as securities. It paid $1.5 million without admitting or denying the findings, and limited US crypto trading to bitcoin, bitcoin cash and ether.
• Australia, since 2023. ASIC sued eToro AUS Capital in its first case under the design and distribution rules, alleging the target market for its CFDs was far too broad. ASIC said almost 20,000 clients lost money on them between October 2021 and June 2023. The case was still running when eToro filed its 2025 annual report.
• Cyprus. CySEC has made inquiries about possible breaches of eToro (Europe)'s product governance and suitability duties for CFDs, according to the 20-F.
• Canada, 2018. After an Ontario Securities Commission hearing notice over unlicensed trading, eToro paid a penalty and stopped serving Canadian clients.

None of these cases involved lost client assets. They do show a pattern of regulators pushing back on how eToro markets risky products.

Financial strength

eToro has been profitable for three years in a row: $15 million in 2023, $192 million in 2024 and $216 million in 2025. The IPO in May 2025 lifted total equity to about $1.39 billion and corporate cash to $1.07 billion by the end of 2025. Much of its income comes from interest on client cash and from crypto and CFD trading, so profits would fall in a quiet market, but nothing in the accounts suggests a strained balance sheet. Like Robinhood, it files with the SEC, which gives more public disclosure than most European brokers.

How to stay safe on eToro

1. Check which eToro company your account is with, in your account settings or welcome documents. It decides your regulator and your compensation scheme.
2. If you are an EU client with more than €20,000 at eToro, remember the Cyprus fund covers only that amount if assets go missing.
3. Turn on two-factor authenticationTwo-factor authenticationSigning in with a second proof of identity on top of your password, such as a code from an app, a security key or a passkey.More in the glossary and treat messages asking you to "verify" your account or move funds as phishing.
4. Before opening a position, check whether it says CFD. Leverage and short selling mean you do not own the asset.

How we scored it

Regulation (82) and financial strength (82) are eToro's best factors: FCA and CySEC licences for the main entities and audited, profitable accounts. Investor protection (72) is held back by the €20,000 EU limit and the lack of any excess cover, and conduct (62) by the SEC settlement and the open ASIC case.