28.03.2024

eToro to Expand its Crypto Wallet Services, as Investors Owning XRP Demand Answers, from the Platform

For almost a week now, XRP investors and community members who use the eToro trading platform have been demanding answers as to why they cannot directly access their digital assets unless cashing out to fiat.

One of the first tweets demanding answers from eToro was by Tiffany Hayden who had this to say about the brokerage company.

You can purchase $XRP from @etoro, but you can’t actually have it or transfer it or anything crazy like that. Oh, and eToro might convert it into a CFD without your permission, but it’s still totally yours. Really. So handover your credit card info and just be cool. #XRPCommunity

The full tweet can be found below.

Perhaps It Was a Case of eToro’s Clients not Reading the Fine Print?

Another tweet by @john_cherry1970 pointed out the following clause in the Terms and Conditions that eToro has for its clients.

You authorize eToro to lend, as your agent, to ourselves or others any cryptocurrencies held by us for your benefit and neither we nor they shall have any obligation to retain under our or their possession and control a similar amount of such cryptocurrencies. In connection with such loans, we may receive certain benefits to which you shall not be entitled.

(The above statement has been obtained from eToro’s Addendum to Terms and Conditions for Cryptocurrencies Trading that is available here.)

XRP Investors Thinking about Leaving eToro

Some XRP investors that use eToro have actually sold their XRP on the platform and opened up accounts on other platforms due to the fact that they cannot access their XRP. This is due to the fact that eToro does not have wallet services for users who fund their accounts using paypal and/or credit cards.

One such eToro client tweeted the following.

Wallet Services Only for Users Who Fund Accounts Using Wire Transfers

The team at eToro explains that wallet services are currently only available to users of the platform who use wire transfers to fund their accounts. Depending on the region and/or country the user resides, the minimum first time deposit on the platform varies from $200 to $10,000.

eToro’s Response to its XRP Investors

The uncertainty regarding how eToro handles cryptocurrencies owned by its users has prompted the CEO of eToro, Yoni Assia, to issue a statement on the firm’s blog to clarify the matter.

In the elaborate post, he explains that the firm offers brokerage services and must adhere to certain compliance requirements:

eToro is a regulated broker offering clients a broad range of assets to trade and invest in.

As a regulated brokerage service, eToro EU and eToro UK allows users to trade and invest in the global markets but does not offer third party payments, meaning clients can only deposit and withdraw fiat from their personal accounts.

The blog post went on to explain why some eToro users cannot access the wallet services.

The new eToro wallet is provided by eToroX Ltd. whom is regulated by Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) under their distributed ledger technology (DLT) regulation…

The wallet is a NEW product created by eToroX. While it integrates with the eToro platform, they are separate applications and offer different features.

At first, the transfer of cryptoassets from the eToro platform to the wallet will be available for eToro Gold and above members only, and will be limited to the amount of money that has been deposited via wire transfer.

Support for XRP by eToro’s Wallet Services

The above explanation by eToro’s CEO provided a glimpse as to why the XRP community demanded answers. XRP investors could not withdraw, neither deposit any XRP.

The blog post also added that:

Support for XRP in the wallet is currently in the advanced stages of testing and will launch by the 25th December 2018.

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