Blocked from posting on eToro for 1 month

Due to a recent controversy regarding my post, I have been banned from posting on eToro and getting new copiers for a month.

A few days ago I made a post which was found to violate eToro’s policy. This was not my intention, nonetheless I understand that my words my be perceived to be hurtful to eToro or other PIs. The Popular Investor team has decided to reprimand me by blocking me from posting or replying to posts and getting new copiers for 1 month. I will also not be paid for the month of June.

My copiers and followers have appreciated me for transparency. Here is my honest opinion on this issue.

This sucks for me.

However, I have decided to accept the punishment and not become a martyr over this. I do admit, that regardless of my intentions and the validity of my concern, I should have chosen better ways to report it issues to eToro directly instead of writing a public post, especially as a beneficiary of the PI program.

As most of you know, I had joined eToro in 2019 as a Popular Investor and gained 280 copiers by mid 2021. I then had to quit eToro because I took a job in a High Frequency Trading company and was not allowed to trade privately. In 2022, I decided to leave that job. Being able to return to eToro was one of the biggest reason for my decision.

Fortunately, my posts and my strategy resonated with copiers, and I once again quickly went from 0 copiers to 800 copiers within a year. If the first time was a fluke, then I've been lucky twice.

The fact is that I have worked very hard to get here by investing a lot of effort in writing meaningful posts, explaining my strategy and faithfully executing on it. I derive a sense of purpose from educating copiers become better investors and helping them make money with my common sense investment approach.

Obviously, I have vested interests in the success of the Popular Investor program but I am also very proud of the mission of eToro and proud to be a part of the program. There is always scope for improvement but there is lots for “eToroans” to be proud of. Social network and online brokerage are very tough businesses to crack and eToro has managed to crack both of them combined. They have invested in and nurtured the PI program as a flagship of their business. Arguably, they can make more money by letting new investors fail on the market, but they've created this wonderful platform where copiers can learn and benefit from the experience of PIs. As a software engineer I can also appreciate the challenges in implementing, maintaining and improving the platform.

The way forward

The ban went into effect on 5th June and is supposed to last for a month. During this time I will not be able to write posts and reply to comments. I will also not be able to get new copiers. Copiers are also not allowed to add funds during this time. I don't think it's fair to disallow copiers from adding funds, and I have asked the team to review this. I will also not be paid for the month of June.

This will hurt my copiers count and AUC. It will also hurt my hard-earned reputation, but it won't hurt my motivation.

I will continue executing my strategy as always. I will continue writing posts on Substack. I am also available to chat on Substack. If you haven't yet subscribed, I recommend you to do so. After the ban has been lifted, I will resume my posts on eToro.

I have always been grateful for your trust in me. I totally understand if you choose to stop copying me over this issue. I hope you will give me a chance to regain your trust and confidence.

Please feel free to ask your questions in comments.

Thank you.