eToro has temporarily increased the minimum deposit amount for new users to $ 1,000.
This follows the new all-time high in new registrations and deposits, as trading activity is booming.
Several exchanges suffered from outages following the new highs reached by Bitcoin Era.
eToro has temporarily increased the minimum deposit amount for new users to $ 1,000.
The eToro cryptocurrency exchange increased its deposit amount for new users from $ 200 to $ 1,000. The platform has faced an unprecedented increase in demand for its trading services following the historic rally in Bitcoin .
On Twitter , eToro announced measures to protect its current 17 million users. It seemed necessary indeed: 40,000 new users signed up in a single day at the start of the year.
A generalized increase
This boom at eToro happened on December 16, when Bitcoin’s price broke the key psychological level of $ 20,000. This rally was accompanied by a sharp increase in activity and transaction volumes. The data Google Trends also show that the volume of research about the BTC is at its highest level since its previous high of $ 20,000 in December 2017.
Additionally, mainstream media such as the BBC and CNN have this time started to cover Bitcoin on the front page. eToro claims that the recent surge in demand has been driven primarily by offers from retail traders.
Additional fees following the Bitcoin rally
Some crypto exchanges now require their new users to have a minimum deposit to cover the costs of creating accounts. However, when cryptocurrency first appeared, exchange platforms did not apply this measure. Traders thus associated these fees with traditional exchanges.
The cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex , however, took similar steps in 2018, establishing a minimum deposit of $ 10,000. Indeed, the exchange faced strong demand during the Bitcoin rally of 2017-2018.
A similar move to Bitfinex could have favored some exchanges this year and into 2020. Binance’s servers were blocked when Bitcoin surpassed $ 20,000, with the platform enduring nearly two hours of downtime before trading resumed. .
Coinbase has also faced this problem. The platform has since been in the throes of crashes, and some traders criticize the exchange on social media for these technical issues.
eToro has stated that its educational resources, including its demo-trading accounts, are not affected by the new minimum deposit amount. This change will last until demand drops or the platform increases capacity.
This shows that the cryptocurrency industry can still be surprised by the growing level of interest. The rise in institutional interest is steadily increasing. The industry must now prepare for a wave of new investors.
