eToro, an Israel-based social trading network, has expanded the list of assets its users in Brazil can invest in. Users in the Latin American country who were onboarded on or after 28th February last year could previously only trade in cryptocurrency positions based on the Brazilian real.

However, with the new update, they can now additionally invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and contracts for difference (CFDs) with the exemption of forex CFDs.

“All products and services in Brazil are now open. The only exception is currency pairs which are disabled for this region,” eToro announced in an update published on its website.

eToro explained that it exempted forex CFDs in accordance with Brazil’s regulatory requirements, adding that “should this change in future, we will update you, as we always do.”

Additionally, eToro said its Brazilian users can now deploy its copy trading feature to their trading activities as well as invest in its Smart Portfolios. However, they will not be able to copy forex positions, eToro pointed out.

The new development comes days after eToro introduced an artificial intelligence-based smart trading portfolio to its users in the United States. The portfolio, which is tagged ‘InvestorAI-US,’ offers retail investors exposure to the stocks of 12 high-growth companies in the United States.

CFD Trading across the World

Trading in CFDs is banned in several jurisdictions across the world including in Belgium. However, they are permitted in most of Europe under strict regulation. While CFD trading on various assets is permitted in the UK, the country’s financial markets regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, in 2021 prohibited CFD trading on cryptocurrencies.

In the United States, citizens are forbidden from trading CFDs although forex trading is permitted. Moreover, CFD trading is permitted in Australia but is highly restricted. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission downgraded permitted leverage from 500:1 to 30:1 in 2021.