Please tell everyone about this as I am 1000% sure these CFD sites actively try to manipulate and rip off you and inexperienced traders in our community that cannot tell the difference. They believe they are buying valuable cryptos while sitting in a casino which Plus500, eToro and others are - nothing more or less.
I came across this reddit post some while ago and felt the urge to point out something REALLY IMPORTANT when using platforms like Plus500, eToro and others.
Why not?
Sites like Plus500 are only CFD trading platforms - this is really important. You CANNOT buy crypto on these sites like e.g. on coinbase as they do NOT sell cryptocurrencies or shares etc.
What they do is let you trade via Contracts For Difference based on the price movements on e.g. cryptos or shares. When the price goes up you can earn money (if you sell on time), when it goes down you lose money (if you sell or automatic margin calls kick in).
During all this time you don't actually on a single pice of a company or coin at all. All you do is participate on the performance of the underlying asset.
These sites are not for long-term trades or investments
If you think "Nevermind if it goes up or down in the short-term, I am in it for the long-term" stop right there. First of all you pay an initial spread fee which works like a typical trading fee which you position has to "earn" or rather perform you back when buying as well as selling.
In addition, every CFD position charges you overnight fees for holding in the long-term. This is a CFD platforms way to ensure they are always wining never mind what happens.
These fees are just the tip of the ice berg for long-term traders. Lets say you bought bitcoin at 20k which is a bad decision for the short- to mid-term, but not for too bad for the long-term at least in my opinion. Now you bought BTC with e.g. 1k in your pockets so effectively having 0.05 BTC, but with a CFD you can use your 1k to bet and participate on the price development of BTC like having 20k.
BTW this leverage effect is normal when trading CFDs, you can only decide how large this has to be.
To finish this example:
If you speculated on BTC with your 1k when it was at 20k and it went down to like we know to 19k, the trading platform automatically closes your position and YOU LOSE ALL OF YOUR MONEY. In comparison, buying actual 0.05 Bitcoin and holding it now for half a year you would still have about 0.25 k left or even more when selling now. And don't forget what might happen when you HODL till the end?
To sum it up:
They charge and charge and charge for nothing at the end - for you having the option to lose money which is the case for more than 99% of people, because they make damn sure this modern day casino always wins.
What now?
Decide whether you want to speculate on assets or actually trade/invest in them and own something valuable.
If you want to speculate thats fine, just be aware of the risks and gamble away your money so these companies can rip you off.
However, if you actually want to buy and own cryptos you should go on sites like coinbase or binance and secure your valuable assets as good as possible on a cold storage, trezor etc.