How to Buy Ethereum (ETH)?

Ethereum (ETH), the digital token created in 2015, comes as the second most valuable cryptocurrency after Bitcoin (BTC). Its founder, Vitalik Buterin, came up with the idea of creating his own token after being a part of Bitcoin community.

The main difference between the two most popular digital currencies is the blockchain technology: while Bitcoin as itself is nothing more than a digital token and only used as a form of payment, Ethereum is taken one step further and proposes a ledger technology on which smart contracts can be built.

As follows, investors’ interest in ETH is warmed up by the opportunities of building decentralized applications on the top of Ethereum blockchain. And, as a reality, many of the world’s largest public companies already made their investment footprint in that field.

The examples can be found in any business area: banking (UBS, Citigroup, BNP Paribas), in software and IT (Google, Microsoft, Siemens), retail and supply chain (Amazon), consumer electronics (Intel, HTC, Samsung) and many more. And that is not the end – as predicted by software company Cision, the market of blockchain technology will reach the mark of $20B by 2024.

Individual investors are also attracted by Ethereum but in a different way: it is rather considered as a worthwhile alternative to its notorious sibling, Bitcoin. While both tokens maintain a high volatility index, ETH is still priced significantly lower than BTC (almost a 5-time difference!).

As a result, with the same amount being invested in both cryptocurrencies, investment in Ethereum will result in a less substantial loss than that of BTC. What is more, Ethereum offers almost 15% higher return on investment (ROI) than Bitcoin does.

Difference Between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic

One important aspect to be explored before investing is the distinction between original Ethereum its close alternative, Ethereum Classic (ETC). Coming into existence the same year of 2015, the second version appeared as a result of “hard fork” – the split of the original blockchain network into two.

That means, up to this day there are two distinctive platforms existing – Ethereum Classic (original chain, named “classic” therefore) and another that appeared in the aftermath of the fork – Ethereum. However similar they may sound, it is important to differentiate the two. Though ETH and ETC share the same fundamental features, Ethereum is based on the brand new version of blockchain and runs on a newer protocol. That makes ETH more attractive for miners and the community as a whole.

However, what else has to be mentioned is: Ethereum Classic has always been a lucre for speculators, while ETH had long-term orientation from the very start. ETH platform is constantly developing, and there is a chance that a few more forks will occur in the future. Besides, the difference in market cap says for itself: Ethereum stands on the market with more than $23 billion while ETC is only valued at $680 million (as for the July 2019).

Ethereum Buying Process

Generally, the buying process of Ethereum should not be difficult even for novices. Whether you are buying Ethereum for the first time or looking to advance your knowledge on this issue, the step-by-step guide below will help you.

Identify an Ethereum Selling Exchange

However simple it may sound, it will still require you to do some research work before. First, it is important to decide whether you will go for a fiat-cryptocurrency or cryptocurrency-cryptocurrency exchange. As a rule, the most popular ones should not have any troubles converting fiat into crypto or vice versa.

If you have that in mind, you may consider going in favor of CEX, Coinbase, Coinmama, Kraken or Bitstamp. However, if your preference falls under crypto-to-crypto type, then we suggest paying attention to Binance, ShapeShift, Poloniex or KuCoin.

Second, you have to make a decision on how to choose one exchange over another. Here our advice is: it is always a better choice to go for reliable and established exchange. Since cryptocurrency is still in its early years of development, many regulatory aspects up to this day require more careful scrutiny. Therefore, it is highly recommended to check their public information and found out if they:

• possess a license;
• provide a secure service and reliable website;
• take care of the safety of your funds.

Apart from that, it is useful to know where they are based (headquarter), what their reputation is (you can find out through individual user reviews) and who are the executives managing the fund.

Create an Account

After the initial step is completed, you can start moving forward to create your account. However, before doing so, we provide the most important criteria to look at:

• Geographical coverage – make sure that the exchange supports your country: it is not rare that platforms provide their services only in certain geographical areas.
• Fees – how much the costs are associated with commission, withdrawal, and deposit.
• Exchange rates – some extra effort should be put to identify a platform offering the best ones (NB: nowadays, you can even find commission-free exchanges, e.g. Crypto.com).
• KYC and verification process – whether the exchange requires you to provide personal details (e.g. ID card) and how long it will take to get approved (the process can last up to a few days).
• Payment method – which ones you can choose from, whether credit/debit card, wire transfer, or maybe traditional money transfer (PayPal?).

Deposit Your Funds

Once all your personal details were verified and the account has been launched, you should have no troubles deposing the currency of your choice. On the good side, exchanges usually do not provide minimum investment requirements, which makes it possible to deposit as little as $5. However, you have to take into account that some exchanges levy the fees per trade, which makes it more beneficial to trade at a higher stake.

The situation may get a little bit more complex with crypto-to-crypto exchanges. In order to complete a transfer, you have to send cryptocurrency form one location to another via code. ETH proved itself to be a highly popular choice when deposing currency in large volumes.

Perform the Trade

Once you have currency on your account, you can now purchase Ethereum as well as other cryptocurrencies supported by the exchange. During the process, you will have to enter address and payment information – that should be fairly simple, however, the process varies from one exchange to another. One thing here to keep in mind: with all chances, the transaction process will not be instant, and some extra time for processing will be required.

Collect ETH Back

When all of the stages are behind, you will have the possibility of transferring newly-received Ether back. That can be either your bank account or wallet, depending on where you prefer to store it. Note: we recommend not to be placing all eggs in one basket and avoid storing too much of your savings on just one account. Especially in the case of exchanges, these remain vulnerable to hacker attacks up to this day.

Alternative Ways to Get Ether

Sometimes, the wallets are developed in cooperation with exchanges, so that makes the whole process of trade substantially easier. As an example, with Kraken and Coinbase you simply need to register once, and later on, you will be able to complete the trade straight from your wallet. Plus, Cypto.com offers a wallet to which you can order a Visa card free of charge. Then, later on, you may consider using your store crypto for daily purchases and subscription payments, as the platform encourages its users with generous benefits.

One more unconventional solution is to acquire ETH through Ethereum ATM. This way is considered to be ideal for the ones intending to buy Ether in small amounts. Ethereum ATMs have more benefits over exchanges in this case since the users will not have to undergo the procedure of KYC and full identification process. However, one thing is still required prior to the start – take care of setting up your Ethereum wallet. Once that is done, you can start identifying the facilities near you with the help of CoinATMRadar.

Ethereum definitely stores the potential for investment. If it achieves its main target – becoming the global network behind payments and transactions with no third party behind – then, most certainly, the bright future of Ether is not over the hills and far away.