How to Buy Ethereum (ETH) and Everything You Need to Know

Ethereum is a game-changing crypto player. It is a protocol with multifaceted capabilities related to smart contracts, decentralized applications (DApps), and more. Ethereum is known for transforming crypto into a tool rather than just an investment. When you buy Ethereum, you are not merely purchasing a cryptocurrency for investment; you are gaining access to a blockchain with diverse use cases, allowing you to explore the ecosystem further. In this detailed guide, we discuss everything you need to know about the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, helping you decide if buying ETH is right for you.

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Unpacking the Ethereum network

While the Ethereum roadmap is illustrious and the Ethereum community is exceedingly tech-oriented, buying ETH requires an additional understanding of the ecosystem. Let’s explore this further.

What is Ethereum?

Ethereum was founded in 2014 and led by Vitalik Buterin and other notable personalities, including Gavin Wood and Charles Hoskinson. It is best viewed as an open-source network leveraging distributed ledger technology. It acts as a stage for smart contracts—blocks of code for autonomous deployment. The support for smart contracts allows individuals to build apps on top of Ethereum, known as DApps. All of that makes Ethereum more like an operating system than a vanilla digital currency.

A deeper look into the Ethereum network reveals its original vision. The founders precisely wanted something more than a payment system—an idea that eventually helped the project raise $1 billion in funds. However, like any other successful crypto, despite the underlying innovation, the Ethereum price quickly became important to crypto traders and investors.

What are smart contracts?

If you want to buy Ethereum (ETH), you should know its capabilities. Most of these — like hosting DApps and helping build new tools and resources for an all-encompassing web3 outlook — hinge on the network’s support for smart contracts.

For the uninitiated, smart contracts are self-executing code bits that identify as condition-based, trustless agreements. These smart contracts lay the foundation for decentralized finance, NFTs, blockchain games, and more—all hosted on Ethereum.

How to buy Ethereum

How to buy Ethereum and hold the asset?

1. First, open the Kraken app, find Ethereum, and press “Buy.”

2. Secondly, select the amount of ETH that you would like to purchase.

3. Finally, swipe the slider to the right to confirm your transaction.

You can buy Ethereum (ETH) on a centralized or decentralized exchange. To purchase ETH on a CEX, all you need is to create an account, verify your credentials, and fund the exchange wallet.

Different exchanges offer different payment methods in case you want to rely on order book buying. Exchanges like Binance, OKX, and more also allow you to buy Ethereum via P2P trades, provided you hold USDT or any other compatible crypto.

For DEX-based purchases, you must connect your wallet and move funds to swap and acquire ETH. Once you buy Ethereum, you can rely on the right wallet — hardware, software, or mobile — to store the asset.

How to sell Ethereum quickly?

If you have ETH stored in your wallet, perhaps you have bought or earned it through mining and staking. While some evangelists may look to HODL long term, others will be keen to know how to sell Ethereum.

Just like you when you bought ETH, selling the same can also be initiated via CEXs and DEXs. You can even swap your ETH for exchange tokens to quickly offload the same for fiat. You can also rely on P2P cryptocurrency trading to sell your holdings for BTC, USDT, or any other compatible crypto.

1. First, open the Kraken app, go to the portfolio, and select ethereum and “Sell.”

2. Select the amount of ETH that you would like to sell.

3. Lastly, swipe the slider to the right to confirm your sell order.

Where to buy Ethereum: Top platforms

• Coinbase: Our detailed evaluation of the platform has demonstrated that the PRO version is worth the switch for the seasoned trader due to the advanced analytics and tools available. Another noteworthy perk we noticed is the platform’s unique approach to incorporating educational elements into its rewards program. With this approach, the exchange encourages users to expand their knowledge while reaping financial benefits.
• Binance: The platform’s fee structure is transparent and competitive compared to other leading exchanges. Based on our experience, Binance’s homegrown NFT marketplace, along with its futures and options trading desks, is particularly appealing to traders with diverse interests and risk appetites.
• OKX: We particularly enjoyed OKX’s diverse trading options, which included peer-to-peer trading and automated trading bots. These features have proven to be incredibly useful, and we found the platform to be consistently user-friendly and efficient. The peer-to-peer platform proved to be flexible enough so we could execute transactions on our terms.
• Kraken: Our experience using Kraken for futures trading has been largely positive, with its advanced interface providing an insightful overview of market trends and potential investment strategies. We also found the depth of its trading features pretty handy, especially for those of us who appreciate a more nuanced approach to trading.

The above platforms all represent excellent options for buying and selling ETH. All have decent liquidity, and the majority boast a global presence. Furthermore, all of our recommended platfroms benefit from solid customer protection and security offerings. While no crypto transaction is completely risk-free, sticking with these reputable options is advisable.

However, if you’re keen not to KYC when you buy Ethereum and would prefer to purchase crypto anonymously, a number of leading decentralized exchanges also support the second largest crypto. Solid offerings in this space include Uniswap and dYdX.

Ethereum and DeFi: A match made on the blockchain

Decentralized finance is one of the most prominent blockchain-specific cases. And Ethereum’s smart contract capability makes it a breeding ground for numerous DeFi applications. Imagine setting up a smart contract-powered application that ensures fund transfers when certain conditions are met. While this is a simplistic representation of DeFi, Ethereum covers multiple aspects of this extensive landscape: hosting protocols, DEXs, and more.

Ethereum also brings forth different token standards like ERC-20 and ERC-721, facilitating near-seamless asset creation and hosting. From liquidity farming to yield farming, staking to automated market makers, every DeFi exclusive finds a place on Ethereum. While Ethereum leads the decentralized finance revolution, the protocols built on top of the network have also extended their presence to other chains.

For instance, Lido—the liquid staking platform—is not just an Ethereum-specific entity. It also has a presence on Solana, Terra Classic, Moonbeam, and Moonriver.

NFTs and Ethereum: Creators, tools, ENS, and more

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, adhere to the Ethereum ecosystem’s ERC-721 token standard. Unlike standard crypto assets like BTC and ETH, they cannot be exchanged or traded one-on-one. Instead, they are creative, unique digital assets.

Understanding NFTs: Ethereum’s role in the digital art revolution

A good NFT explainer focuses on identifying these tokens as a form of ownership. It is the uniqueness of the asset that gives NFTs value. Even if your sole focus is to buy ethereum, you should watch NFTs. This is because the growth of Ethereum’s NFT ecosystem might impact the price of ETH, helping traders and investors make informed buy and sell calls.

If you plan to buy Ethereum and NFTs, which should you consider?

To start with NFT trades, it is always advisable to examine the top NFT artists or creators for a given year and see how their tokens and creations are performing.

Another approach is to rely on NFT tools or platforms like CryptoSlam, Icy.tools, and OpenSea to track NFT stats and find assets that align with your preferences. Some of these platforms also double up as NFT marketplaces, allowing you the opportunity to buy and sell these exclusive tokens. As an artist, you can also create an NFT by minting one. Note that minting an NFT on Ethereum might attract a significant fee.

Understanding Ethereum Name Service and how it fits into the NFT landscape

Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is a decentralized alternative to the DNS or Domain Name Service. The idea behind ENS is to give your blockchain, or rather Ethereum presence, a human-readable identity. As ENS domains are unique, they play a major role in furthering Ethereum’s NFT ecosystem. ENS names were the reason the NFT ecosystem didn’t fall on its back in 2022.

That sums up the Ethereum primer and the platform’s top use cases. Let’s now dive into the Ethereum ecosystem.

Ethereum ecosystem explored

The Ethereum ecosystem primarily comprises ethereum tokens and wallets, allowing users to operate within the network. If you want to buy ETH, it is good practice to keep token and wallet usage patterns in mind, as these might have an effect on the market cap. A growth in the respective numbers can help you decide if buying the asset is a good option.

Unpacking Ethereum tokens and their importance

The Ethereum ecosystem isn’t only about ETH. Fungible and non-fungible tokens are also in sight. Plus, other blockchains hosting themselves on the network can use Ethereum’s token standards like ERC-20, ERC-721, ERC-1155, or others to issue their own native tokens. One such example is Shiba Inu and its native ERC-20 token, SHIB. 

What is Wrapped Ethereum (WETH)?

Even though ETH is a universally accepted token, it might not be directly useful while using specialized DApps and DeFi protocols. In that case, it is possible to send ETH to a smart contract to create a wrapped or ERC-20 version of the same. Termed wrapped Ethereum (WETH), these tokens can be redeemed for ETH at any given time, and their value is similar to the price of ETH they are being backed with.

Wrapped Ethereum isn’t just a fancy term. Instead, it comes with a host of benefits, including the ability to help you leverage the ETH you are holding on DEXs and across DeFi protocols and DApps that only accept ERC-20 tokens. Plus, you can even earn interest on WETH. 

Choosing an Ethereum wallet 

Before getting started with an Ethereum wallet, know that they can either be software or hardware entities to store ETH or even ERC-20 tokens. And wallets are like keys, which you can use directly to interact with DApps, DEXs, and other relevant resources. As for the types of wallet, you can look at mobile, web, cold, and hot wallets, choosing one that aligns best with your needs. 

If you choose to buy Ethereum, it is important to keep crypto wallet security as a top priority. Ensure you can secure your seed phrase, and do not share your private key with anyone.

Best Ethereum wallet to choose from

Top Ethereum wallets include the Ledger Nano X or Trezor One, both of which are leading hardware options. The likes of MetaMask and Exodus offer decent desktop and mobile solutions. Another viable option is MyEtherWallet. Consider whether a wallet is multi-signature and offers two-factor authentication. Also, check a wallet’s reputation around ease of asset recovery before proceeding.

Is Ethereum a good investment?

Now that we have covered some of the elements associated with the Ethereum ecosystem, it is only appropriate to tickle the fancy of traders. 

This chart shows the day-to-day price fluctuations of Ethereum (ETH) from July 1, 2021, to March 26, 2024. The data reveals a period of significant fluctuation, marked by a pronounced peak in the latter part of 2021. This surge reflects a potential uptick in investor interest or a bullish sentiment in the market. 

As the timeline progressed, Ethereum’s price declined, stabilizing at lower values for an extended period. Towards the end of 2023, the price ascended sharply, indicating a possible revival of investor confidence or favorable market conditions.

“Medium-term $8000-$10,000.”

Clem Chambers on ETH’s growth potential, Founder of Umbria Network: BeInCrypto interview

Key observations:

• Late 2021’s peak suggests investors aggressively accumulated ETH, increasing its value.
• The subsequent price drop may reflect market sell-offs, evolving investor perspectives, or economic trends impacting the cryptocurrency.
• The steep increase in late 2023 points to a renewed market rally, possibly driven by the adoption of Ethereum and its technological improvements.
• Innovations in layer-2 solutions likely enhance Ethereum’s efficiency and affordability, contributing to the positive price movement observed in the chart.

“I am hopeful for the long term on Ethereum and @VitalikButerin have played a positive role on crypto and the community.”

Tom Lee, Co-Founder of Fundstrat: Twitter

Ethereum layer-2 and scalability solutions

With great popularity comes great congestion. That is exactly what is happening with Ethereum, as the growing number of DApps, protocols, and other resources is slowing down its scalability.

As of June 11, 2024, the number of daily Ethereum transactions is approximately 1.177 million. This figure marks a slight decrease from the previous day’s total of 1.180 million transactions but a significant rise from the 975,959 transactions recorded one year prior. According to Ycharts data, the day-to-day growth rate is -0.26%, while the annual growth rate is 20.61%.

To make Ethereum more scalable, layer-2 blockchains have emerged. These help users offload transactions from the mainnet while borrowing the decentralization and security of the parent chain. 

Let us now look at some of the more popular Ethereum layer-2 scaling solutions. It is worth noting that these solutions are Ethereum adoption facilitators and not Ethereum alternatives. 

Understanding Polygon (MATIC)

Polygon is a multi-chain scaling resource for Ethereum. This ecosystem lets users build and connect several Ethereum-compatible chains, paving the way for cheaper and faster transactions. Polygon’s native token is MATIC.

What is Optimism?

Optimism, a chain using Optimistic Rollups as the scaling technology, is another Ethereum-specific scaling solution. Optimism works by finalizing transactions off-chain or outside Ethereum, only to submit a batched summary to the mainnet. The underlying roll-up technology is great at lowering Ethereum gas fees and speeding up transactions.

Understanding Arbitrum

Arbitrum is yet another Ethereum layer-2 solution that incorporates Optimistic rollups. Like Optimism, it pushes transactions off-chain. Over the years, Arbitrum has launched new upgrades like Arbitrum Nitro and Arbitrum One, making it easier to scale the mainnet. Only recently did Arbitrum launch its native token—ARB—introducing yet another use case to its repertoire.

Another aspect of this layer-2 scaling solution is the Arbitrum bridge, which allows users to bridge funds from one chain to another using smart contracts.

What is Loopring (LRC)? 

Loopring (LRC) isn’t a standard layer-2 scaling solution. Instead, it is a decentralized exchange protocol using zkRollup technology. With Loopring, you can focus on faster and more productive trades, which might not be possible on Ethereum-specific DEXs due to higher costs.

Cartesi explained

Just like Loopring is suitable as a scalable DEX protocol, Cartesi is a layer-2 resource for handling and offloading Ethereum DApps. As decentralized applications need to run complex computations, Cartesi takes the same off-chain. It works as a bridge between the blockchain and traditional software solutions, making DApp development faster and more scalable.

What is Mantle Network?

Mantle Network is an interoperability-focused layer-2 solution for Ethereum. The standardized interface is meant for protocols and decentralized applications. Mantle Network is EVM-compatible and relies on Optimistic Rollups to scale Ethereum. 

ZkEVMs explained: Enhancing Ethereum’s scalability

If your focus is on technologies and upgrades, zkEVMs present a pretty picture. They rely on zero-knowledge proofs to increase transaction throughput. zkEVMs applications extend to DeFi, blockchain gaming, NFT trades, and more—use cases that need speed and affordability to remain useful.

Unpacking ParaState and redefining interoperability

Scaling Ethereum isn’t just about native solutions and technologies. Instead, it is also about ensuring that your Ethereum DApps can run on other chains. This is where ParaState comes into play, bridging the gap between Ethereum and Polkadot. The ecosystem brings a compatibility layer, allowing the Ethereum app to run on the Polkadot ecosystem without issues.

This way, Ethereum DApps gain cross-chain popularity. Even Ethereum developers can tap into the Dot ecosystem to further improve the quality of the DApps. 

Ethereum vs. competitors

Before you head out to buy Ethereum, ensure you take a look at its competitors. This can give you insights regarding network adoption and how other native tokens are performing. And while Ethereum has many supposed “killers” or rather Ethereum alternatives, we have analyzed the top three options. 

Litecoin vs. Ethereum: What’s the difference?

The Litecoin vs. Ethereum debate holds little weight now that the latter has embraced a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. However, when Ethereum was proof-of-work, the Litecoin network was one of its closest competitors. As for the differences post-merge, Litecoin still boasts lower transaction fees compared to the Ethereum network. 

Solana vs. Ethereum: An ultimate comparison

The Solana vs. Ethereum bit makes more sense as both these ecosystems can host applications, NFTs, and smart contracts. While Solana relies on PoH or proof-of-history, Ethereum is purely PoS. Despite the instances of outages plaguing Solana rather frequently, the network still boasts lower transaction fees and faster transaction finality than Ethereum.

Solana-based meme coins vs. Ethereum-based meme coins

Solana and Ethereum have become hotbeds for meme coin innovations, each with its own standout tokens. On Solana, Dogwifhat, BOME, and Bonk are leading the charge, drawing in users with their unique blend of humor, community engagement, and potential for growth.

Ethereum’s ecosystem, on the flip side, also has viral successes like Shiba Inu and Pepe, which have captured the imagination of investors and meme enthusiasts alike. Moreover, Base chain meme coins on the Ethereum network like Toshi, Degen, and Base God have hopped on the meme coin bandwagon, carving out their own niches and offering a new layer of diversity.

Ethereum Classic vs. Ethereum: Where do the chains differ?

Ethereum Classic vs. Ethereum makes the most sense as a comparison, as both these blockchains originate from a single codebase. The former is a fork of Ethereum, following the infamous DAO hack in 2016. It is worth noting that while Ethereum has transitioned to PoS, Ethereum Classic is still PoW. 

Earning with Ethereum

Another reason to buy Ethereum (ETH) is to hold the coin and earn passive income. Let us see how this works.

Ethereum staking: The go-to passive earner

Staking is a way of locking ETH up, primarily to secure the network — all while earning passive income on it. While staking ethereum has many benefits, there are also a few drawbacks. These include the high staking limit to become a validator and the chances of getting your funds slashed.

If you are unsure where to stake Ethereum (ETH), the best options include Lido and Rocketpool. These are liquid staking platforms where the staked ETH isn’t actually locked and can be redeemed per your requirements. Apart from Lido and Rocketpool, other platforms like Binance, Stakewise, and more exist to stake ethereum.

Ethereum interest rates: Exploring the options

While staking is one way to generate passive earnings with ETH, there are other strategies like lending, liquidity provisioning, and more with high Ethereum interest rate options to explore. However, suppose you do not manually want to search for passive earning options. In that case, platforms like Nexo, BlockFi, Liquid, and more can offer rewarding interest rates on ETH deposits and do all the heavy lifting on your behalf.

High-yield options for earning interest with yield farming

If you are new to the Ethereum ecosystem, yield farming is a process where ETH holders stake their corpus on select liquidity pools. The approach supports compounding and can also be a lead-generating strategy for a new token launch.

The top yield farms on Ethereum include Curve, Aave, Uniswap, Yearn Finance, and SushiSwap. To check and validate new options, you should carefully analyze the total value locked, liquidity pools, quality of smart contracts, and other factors.

How can I mine Ethereum?

Mining Ethereum might not make a lot of sense in [BIC-DATE]. However, mining was possible until the better part of 2022, when Ethereum was PoW. Let us trace the steps and understand what Ethereum’s mining setup looked like.

Understanding Ethereum mining

Like any other standard mining process, ethereum mining involves solving complex mathematical problems. Miners were rewarded with ETH and a portion of the transaction fees for mining. While any individual could use a mining rig, it was Ethereum pool mining that garnered the most attention before the ecosystem permanently transitioned to PoS.

ETH pools for mining combined hash power to mine blocks, increasing the chances of getting rewards. Even though Ethereum mining pools have ceased to exist, the process involved registering on a credible pool’s website, connecting to the pool software, and starting mining. The process was similar to cloud mining on the Bitcoin network.

Even though mining pools for ETH were more cost-effective, setting up a mining rig was also an option. As for the OS, individuals relied on NiceHash OS for mining, courtesy of its widest possible GPU compatibility and user-friendly UI.

The ability to mine Ethereum for profit ceased to exist on Sept.15, 2022, when the network transitioned to PoS. However, all is not lost, as an ETH-compatible mining rig can mine other cryptocurrencies like the Ethereum Classic (ETC), Ravencoin (RVN), and more.

Ethereum upgrades and developments

Ethereum upgrades explained: Why is Shanghai so important?

Since its inception, the Ethereum network has witnessed several upgrades. Starting with Homestead — the first stable release to the DAO fork and Tangerine Whistle in 2016, the list goes on. However, the Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade, initiated in March 2023, happens to be one of the more important ones. With Ethereum transitioning to PoS, it was imperative to lock the staked ETH for a while, avoiding market-wide sell-offs.

The Shanghai upgrade enabled withdrawals of the staked ETH, albeit in a phased manner, among other things.

The Gray Glacier upgrade: Why should we know about it?

While the Shanghai upgrade enabled ETH withdrawals, the Gray Glacier upgrade laid the foundation for the Ethereum merge. To transition to PoS, Ethereum’s difficulty bomb had to go off, making mining so hard that every miner felt disincentivized. However, as the Merge upgrade wasn’t ready, the difficulty bomb had to be delayed. Gray Glacier introduced this delay. 

Understand the Ethereum Merge

Every move made by Ethereum before 2022 was aimed at the Ethereum Merge. The Merge, initiated in September 2022, transitioned Ethereum to the proof-of-stake consensus. As for the benefits, the Merge made Ethereum more energy-efficiency and even made the network slightly deflationary.

It is worth noting that the Merge didn’t just transition Ethereum to PoS. Instead, it was a time-intensive process, depending on several EIPs like the EIP-1559, changing the fee structure, EIP-3675, introducing the Beacon Chain, and more. 

Understanding Ethereum EIPs

Several EIPs accompany every Ethereum upgrade. Termed Ethereum Improvement Proposals, Ethereum EIPs are changes requested by members of the Ethereum community. Once the community approves an EIP, it gets implemented within the Ethereum protocol.

EIPs can be Meta, Core, Networking, and Interface, depending on the layer they aim to affect. Until now, some of the most important Ethereum EIPs are the EIP-1559, EIP-3675, and EIP-4895. 

Understanding Ethereum Truffle and why is it relevant?

With Ethereum upgrading and new EIPs becoming part of the protocol, the onus is on the Ethereum developers to create and deploy new applications. This is where Ethereum Truffle — a development suite with many tools — comes into the mix. 

With EIPs becoming Ethereum commonplaces, Truffle offers an environment for the developers to work with.

Exploring other important EIPs: 4844 and 4488

While we have explored everything crucial around EIPs, a few lesser-known upgrades have greatly benefited the Ethereum network. The first one is EIP-4844, which introduces cheaper blob transactions and large data storage. Once Ethereum moves to the next phase of the Ethereum 2.0 vision — when the Surge and sharding come to the fore — EIP-4844 will become commonplace.

Next is EIP-4488, which aims to reduce Calldata gas costs, thus helping scale Ethereum in the future. Both of these important EIPs aim to optimize the Ethereum network. 

Is Ethereum the rocket fuel for your crypto portfolio?

The Ethereum blockchain is much more diverse than the Bitcoin network, which maintains a strict stance as a peer-to-peer cash system. Some who want to buy Ethereum (ETH) and hold the asset long-term are optimistic about the likelihood of flippening — a possible future event where the ethereum market cap surpasses that of Bitcoin. With the Ethereum network opening arms to smart contracts, DeFi, NFTs, and even institutional ethereum adoption, flippening might not be out of the equation in the years to come.

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