Best Crypto Copy Trading Platforms in 2024

If imitation is the best form of flattery, then successful cryptocurrency traders can take delight when novice traders follow their lead.

The HM Revenue & Customs estimates that an estimated 10% of UK adults hold or have held crypto assets. However, not everyone is capable of executing profitable trades. In fact, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) found out that one of the factors that drives British respondents to go into debt to buy cryptocurrencies is their low knowledge of investing.

However, those with limited cryptocurrency investing skills can leverage the expertise of successful traders to simulate winning trading strategies through copy trading. Experienced traders believe that this is more practical than spending months discovering fundamental and technical analyses that seasoned traders have already mastered.

In fact, the UK financial regulatory body Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and EU's European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) recognise copy trading as a legitimate form of investing strategy.

How does copy trading operate?

Traders register with the brokerage and connect their accounts to the copy trading application.

As more experienced traders or 'signals' execute trades and build a track record, their performance data, which includes monthly returns and profitability, becomes readily accessible through the application.

Those with less knowledge and skills, or 'copiers', are allowed to select which signals they wish to follow. Once a copier establishes a connection with a particular signal, every trade executed by the signal is automatically mirrored in the accounts of the copiers. This replication is proportional, considering factors such as available funds and risk preferences.

In return for this valuable service, the signal trader charges the copier a percentage of the profits generated from these replicated trades.

Copy trading allows more traders to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency market without having to scale the steep learning curve and risk associated with trading on their own. Experienced traders and newcomers therefore share trust, transparency, and the mutual desire for profiting in the crypto market.

However, copiers need to remember that they can only earn a percentage of the gains from the signal, and may also face the risk of potential losses when copying uninformed trade choices that may result in trade losses.

What makes a good crypto copy trading app

A copy trading app facilitates the entire copy trading process. It provides a platform for users to discover experienced traders, view their trading history, and select who to follow. The app automatically replicates the selected trader's trades in the user's account, adjusting for factors such as risk preferences and available funds.

The more information available in the platform, the more confident a copier will be when simulating the trades of more experienced traders.

In terms of features, some of the basics include access to a wide range of assets, analytical tools, risk management options and social features, which include forums, chat rooms, and community engagement. These enhance the trading experience by connecting users with other traders to share insights.

The app should also provide detailed information about the traders you can follow, including their trading history, performance metrics, and risk profiles.

In addition, it should track performance metrics and handle the distribution of profits and fees, streamlining the copy trading experience for traders of all levels. This should include the fee structure, including commissions, spreads, and any other charges.

Finally, it should have robust security measures in place to protect traders' information and assets from hacks and fraud.

Regulatory oversight can provide an added layer of security to protect the interests of any trader. The FCA remains very strict with approving applications from crypto exchange companies. In October 2022, it only approved 38 firms of the 291 applications that were submitted.

The FCA also monitors exchanges and can recommend their closure. Bybit, a crypto exchange platform that offers copy trading services, ceased operations in the UK in October 2023 since it cannot meet FCA regulations.

On the other hand, some platforms are FCA-regulated but do not operate in the UK such as Exness.

Criteria

The copy trading platforms that are included in this list were selected on the basis of the following:

1. FCA regulation and adherence to strict security protocols to protect traders' personal and financial information
2. Valid licence to operate in the UK to ensure that the platform complies with all legal requirements for providing financial services within the country
3. Robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard personal and financial information
4. User interface that allows both beginners and experienced traders to navigate and use the platform easily
5. Diversity of traders to follow so different trading strategies and risk levels can be selected
6. Detailed performance metrics and statistics for each trader, including historical returns, risk levels, and trade history
7. Risk management tools such as stop-loss orders and capital allocation options to protect investments
8. Transparency in terms of clear information about the traders that can be copied, including their trading history and fees
9. Understandable fee structure, including any commissions or spreads, to assess the total cost of using the platform
10. Social features that allow traders to interact, share insights, and learn from each other
11. Availability of demo accounts for testing the platform and the selected traders' strategies with virtual funds before committing real money
12. Asset coverage to ensure the platform offers access to a wide range of financial markets and assets
13. Auto-copy features to easily replicate a trader's actions in real-time
14. Ease of depositing and withdrawing funds from a trading account through various payment methods
15. Reliable customer support for addressing any issues or concerns promptly
16. Positive community reviews
17. Mobile app or a responsive website to manage your copy trading activities on the go

Licencing

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Best Crypto Copy Trading Platforms

1. eToro

etoro

eToro is an Israeli-based multi-asset trading platform that offers a diverse range of assets, including stocks, cryptocurrencies, and commodities. eToro's interface promotes a trading experience that combines trading tools with a social network-like environment where traders can connect, exchange insights, and collectively navigate the intricacies of financial markets.

The company continuously updates its trading platform, incorporating user feedback and adding new features to cater to evolving trader needs.

In 2010, eToro launched its social trading platform CopyTrader to make trading accessible to global investors. The platform uses a copier's funds to mirror the trader's portfolio with the option of replicating only the trader's selected future trades instead of the entire portfolio.

The company claims that it is the largest copy trading network in the world and is regulated in the UK, EU and Australia.

Some of the advantages of eToro (CopyTrader) include:

• Each account includes a complementary US$100,000 virtual portfolio for practice
• Real-time replication to user portfolio; executions take less than a second
• No additional fees for using this feature but bid/ask spreads on the trading and/or transaction are applicable
• Minimum amount for copied trade is US$1
• Opportunity for others to replicate a user's trades to receive monthly earnings through the Popular Investor program
• Option to automatically close all positions within a user's copied portfolio
• Option to manually close a copied trade
• Users can start copying trades on CopyTrader for US$200.
• Users that close a trade that has been opened by the copied trader, will have their funds returned to the money that they have allocated to that trader.

Quality of signals

eToro's list of skilled traders or "Popular Investors" features their profile, rating, performance history, risk assessment, portfolio composition, profitability, and other information. The company claims that the average performance of its top 50 most copied traders achieved a 30.4% average annual profit in 2021.

Users can view a trader's performance for up to a number of years including average risk, maximum drawdown, number of copiers and other assets managed. The maximum amount of traders that can be copied simultaneously is limited to 100.

Tools and features

The Smart Portfolios feature allows both passive investors and self-directed traders to create diversified portfolios based on a specific theme or strategy. This includes curated lists such as the most active top-performing investors, high-performing investors with a high Sharpe ratio, and those who are most likely to generate profit over the next quarter.

For theme-based lists, users can select industries such as gaming, fashion, sustainable energy, automotive, software and Latin American categories. Finally, partner portfolio-based lists present the company's third-party providers and partners.

The company also provides extensive cryptocurrency tools, enabling users to explore trading ideas and copy other traders across 108 cryptocurrency pairs. Additionally, the platform offers a mobile wallet app for secured cryptocurrency withdrawals.

Its user interface closely resembles a social network, with trader profiles featuring real photos, verified data, and posts on market news, personal updates, and more. This format allows users to engage with posts by liking, sharing, and commenting, creating a social experience within the trading platform.

Minimum investment and fees

eToro's pricing structure closely aligns with the industry standard for trading cryptocurrencies. Users pay a fixed fee of 1% for both buying and selling positions, in addition to the spread whether they are opening or closing a position

It also maintains a 1% flat-rate commission for almost 200 other cryptocurrencies except for Bitcoin, which is advantageous for those diversifying their portfolio. Crypto-to-crypto conversion charge is at 0.1% plus the prevailing spreads.

2. ICONOMI

ICONOMI

London-based ICONOMI started in 2016 with a mission to make cryptocurrency investing accessible to everyone through a more transparent social trading environment. The platform offers a range of cryptocurrency options, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, XRP and Cardano, as well as over 150 other digital assets.

ICONOMI goes beyond standard crypto services by enabling users to create their digital asset arrays (DAAs) and providing various investment vehicles to match different risk appetites. Users can invest in these DAAs, which can be bought and sold without restrictions or withdrawal delays.

It also extends its services to asset management and offers white-label solutions, serving as a distribution channel for traditional financial services.

Some of the advantages of ICONOMI include:

• No subscription fees; open an account anytime
• Regular updates on the platform
• Easy to use interface
• No need for keys or wallets since crypto assets are stored with ICONOMI
• Ideal for dollar-cost averaging
• Full control of assets
• Easy monitoring of asset health and rebalance history
• More than 10,000 different asset pairs to trade one asset against another
• Algorithmic buy/sell execution for trades

Quality of signals

The platform does not run out of investing strategies for copy trading. It claims to have almost 200 public crypto investment strategies for copying. Some of the most followed are Crush Crypto Core that favours diversified portfolios, and Roble Venture Capital that is risk-averse against highly volatile markets.

Tools

The ICONOMI interface is designed to keep users from becoming overwhelmed with intricate charts like most exchanges do. The user-friendly tools are especially advantageous for traders that are still new to the market.

Investors using the platform have the flexibility to establish rules for profit-taking, stop-loss, and scheduled strategy rebalancing, leveraging these cutting-edge features to optimise their trading experience.

In addition, ICONOMI features the Nightwatch rule that allows investors to secure their cryptocurrency holdings by applying a rule that automatically triggers the transfer of their assets into a chosen stablecoin if their portfolio's value experiences a specified percentage decline.

Minimum investment and fees

A minimum of €10 is required to open an account.

There are no fees for buying and selling cryptocurrencies, but a 0.75% spread on most conversions is charged. In addition, copy trading charges include performance fees of up to 30% and a copying fee that is equivalent to the annual percentage fee divided by 365 days.

3. Pepperstone

Pepperstone, founded in 2010 in Melbourne, Australia, offers online trading through cutting-edge technology, low-cost spreads, and exceptional customer support. It claims to process a massive daily average of US$12.55 billion in trades, which makes it one of the world's largest brokers.

With a global community of over 400,000 traders across 175 countries, Pepperstone boasts of outstanding market access, industry-leading platforms (MT4, MT5, TradingView, cTrader), minimal fees, and ultra-low spreads starting from 0.0 pips on the Razor account.

Investors can also leverage up to 1:10 when trading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and explore a range of altcoins and crypto indices.

Some of the advantages of Pepperstone include:

• Allows weekend trading to optimise the cryptocurrency market's volatility
• Does not require a digital wallet to participate
• Engage in the price movement of cryptocurrency CFDs
• Achieve 99.99% fill rate (based on June 2023 data), rapid execution, and a trading environment free from dealing desk intervention
• 24-hour phone and live chat support on weekdays and 18 hours per day on weekends

Quality of signals

Pepperstone does not publish the ROI of its top traders. However, DupliTrade, one of its copy trading partners, displays an updated list of its top strategy providers based on net profit and loss percentage. The platform also vets strategy providers who have gone through a strict auditing process, according to the platform's management team.

Tools

Instead of creating its own copy trading platform from scratch, Pepperstone has chosen to form partnership agreements with third-party platforms, namely DupliTrade, Myfxbook, and MetaTrader.

DupliTrade's user interface and features accommodate both novice and veteran traders, emphasising simplicity and ease of use. Navigating the tool is straightforward and users can readily access strategy providers and their profit performance. The platform also offers tutorials and a trading simulator to better guide users.

Myfxbook, on the other hand, uses the AutoTrade tool to mirror accounts that users follow. It does not require users to download any software.

Finally, MetaTrader is known for its user-friendly interface and customisation features. Users can also take advantage of charting and analysis tools to guide their decisions to automatically mirror trades of reliable traders in the market.

Minimum investment and fees

DupliTrade requires a minimum investment of US$2,000 for copying. Myfxbook, on the other hand, sets it as a minimum US$1,000 investment, while MetaTrader requires only US$1 minimum for investment, which is set by the broker and the trader.

All three platforms do not charge service use fees.

4. FXCM

FXCM was established in 1999 with its headquarters in the UK and operates in various jurisdictions including Australia.

The company offers a wide range of services for active trading, including copy trading through ZuluTrade, a leading social trading platform with access to over 1,000 service providers. This collaboration enables traders to connect with experts and replicate their strategies within their FXCM trading accounts.

There are two types of accounts for FXCM Social Trading. First, the Classic Account requires copiers to pay a volume-based fee even if there are no profits for a certain month. Second, the Profit Sharing Account requires copiers to pay a percentage of the earned profit only if the signal that is followed has earned an ROI. The monthly performance fee is 25% and is bound per trader and not by an account.

Some of the advantages of FXCM include:

• Users can open an account in less than 10 minutes
• Allows portfolio creation to subscribe to several traders
• Web-based and mobile application (ZuluTrade)
• Account protection feature through ZuluGuard that prevents drawdown at a specified level
• No minimum commission level imposed when trading crypto
• Demo account is available for newbies to explore
• Very competitive spreads without a mark-up
• Option to trade in different lots (Micro, Mini and Standard)

Quality of signals

There are 1,000 traders whose strategies can be copied. ZuluTrade selects these traders using advanced algorithms and ranks them according to the most solid and consistent trading strategy they perform. The criteria include minimum trading time of at least eight weeks, a maximum drawdown not exceeding 30% of their total profit, and the average number of pips is above 3 or average rate of return is above 0.015%.

Minimum investment and fees

The minimum investment Is indicated by the broker and ranges from $50 to $1,000. The leverage size will also matter for successful traders, on the other hand, which starts at US$2,000.

Users are required to pay US$30 per month for subscribing to ZuluTrade. There is also a management's commission worth 25% of the profit, which will only be paid if the signal provider is trading profitably.

FXCM, however, doesn't charge additional fees for copy trading services, but users have to pay the spread based on the terms of their trading plan.

DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that investing in and trading financial instruments, commodities, and various other assets carries a significant level of risk, and there is the potential to lose the entirety of your deposited capital. These activities should only be undertaken if you possess a comprehensive understanding of the associated risks. Additionally, it's essential to consider the following disclaimers: past performance of any investment or trading strategy is not indicative of future results; markets can be highly volatile, and price fluctuations can occur rapidly and unpredictably; investments and trading involve inherent uncertainties, and there are no guarantees of profit; diversifying your investment portfolio can help spread risk, as concentrating your investments in a single asset or strategy can amplify potential losses; seek advice from qualified financial professionals or advisors who can provide personalized guidance based on your individual financial situation and goals; understand the regulatory environment in your jurisdiction, as rules and regulations regarding trading and investment can vary; the use of leverage can magnify both gains and losses, so be cautious when utilizing leverage and only do so if you fully understand its implications; consider the tax consequences of your investments, as tax laws may affect your overall returns; assess your risk tolerance and financial capacity carefully, and only allocate funds to trading or investment activities that you can afford to lose without jeopardizing your financial well-being; continuously educate yourself about the assets and markets in which you are involved, as knowledge and research are valuable tools for informed decision-making. By engaging in investment and trading activities, you acknowledge and accept these risks and disclaimers. It is crucial to exercise caution and conduct thorough research before making any financial decisions, seek professional advice if needed, and trade or invest responsibly to manage and mitigate potential risks.