Without any official announcement or promotions eToro has recently soft launched the MT4 platform. While to some it may sound trivial as it's another broker adding the popular MT4 to the list of its platforms - however in case of eToro it's not trivial at all.
Unlike prevailing majority of Forex brokers eToro was established as a venture capital funded start-up with its proprietary platform in the center. Instead of taking a readily available solution eToro went ahead and developed its own platform upon which it continues development of core features such as the successful OpenBook. For a start-up solely focused on its platform to start offering another platform is far from being obvious and it's a sign for a major shift in eToro's way of thinking and positioning.
eToro is here completing a transition from a start-up forex firm into a full blow forex brokerage with the purpose of making its shareholders happy regardless of the technology being used.
eToro in my opinion is doing this for two reasons: first one is the transition from a Forex Broker which is predominantly marketing to entry level traders using a very simplified platform to a broker catering to all kinds of forex traders - simple or sophisticated. Those long enough in the market will remember the first eToro platform with the simplified gaming interface - for instance graphic animated representation of countries pulling a rope symbolizing a currency pair going in one direction or the other. eToro started transitioning from that gaming interface long time ago realizing that while it is attractive to forex newbies it's a turn-off for the sophisticated part of the trading public.
The other reason is that eToro has grown quite a lot and now has the market positioning to attract traders who specifically demand MT4. Adding MT4 now will not threaten the very basis on which eToro was founded - its platform. Adding MT4 will add more prestige, larger traders (eToro's traders are typically not very large in size, albeit OpenBook is changing that) and ultimately volume.
MT4 will eventually help eToro better position itself as a forex broker capable of catering to all types of clients and potentially increase its growth at the expense of smaller MT4 shops which don't have value adding features Etoro has such as OpenBook and others.
For now eToro's MT4 is not directly available from its website but needs to be requested from your account's manager. eToro's MT4 is rumored to be supplied by Boston Technologies.
