The most popular topic of discussion in today’s cryptocurrency world is the ETH (Ethereum) cryptocurrency. The fact that almost everyone talks about the ETH has led to the fact that many people have begun to speculate on its price. There is also a lot of speculation in this area, but today we will find out what exactly is ethereum and how it differs from bitcoin, as they are both so similar.
What is Ethereum?
It is simply a decentralized platform for creating smart contracts and DAO (decentralized autonomous organizations). Ethereum was presented by Vitalik Buterin — Canadian programmer who was interested in the idea of ??decentralized online gaming platforms. From that moment, the concept of the cryptocurrency came into Vitalik’s mind.
The main goal of the Ethereum platform is to create a platform for creating any decentralised applications, as well as to create smart contracts that run on blockchain technology through which you can complete transactions automatically.
How it Works?
The ETH is used for transactions on the Ethereum network. Simply put, every application that runs on this network has its own currency — ETH (Ether). The use of this currency is free — it does not require confirmation from anyone; you only need your private wallet to store your coins.
How to use ETH?
You can buy and sell ETH on cryptocurrency exchanges. The price is determined by demand and supply and depends on how many people need to buy / sell it.
Ethereum has its own blockchain that records all transactions that are made in this cryptocurrency. Any information regarding the payment history of each user is stored in the blockchain of this cryptocurrency — this method helps to prevent theft, double payments or fraudulent payments. Also, the Ethereum platform has its own currency (ETH). This cryptocurrency was created in 2014 and since then it has become one of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the market.
What is Its Mining?
The ETH is mined through the PoW algorithm (Proof of Work). To get a reward, you need to provide your computing power and help to solve a mathematical problem. The reward for solving a cryptographic problem is 5 ETH. You can also transfer your coins from one wallet to another without investing in mining hardware. You can do this as long as you have the necessary amount of ETH in your wallet. In other words, it can be said that Ethereum provides complete decentralized applications and smart contracts.
Benefits of Ethereum
ETH is one of the most popular alternatives to Bitcoin. That’s why the demand for this cryptocurrency will continue to increase in the future. Here are the main advantages of ETH:
Faster transaction process — with Ethereum, you can complete a transaction in about 14 seconds (if there are no issues). It’s much faster than Bitcoin, where it takes about 10 minutes to complete a transaction; Full decentralization — all network participants have equal rights and access to information; No information leakage — since each ETH network participant has a complete copy of private information, you can be sure that your personal data and your financial assets are not disclosed or viewed by third parties.
More and more people talk about the advantages of this crypto currency, which means that in the future it will become even more popular, giving you the opportunity to earn money on it.
Security and Privacy
The ETH is very secure: each participant has a private key that does not allow anyone to open your personal account. This approach significantly reduces the chances of hackers stealing your coins from a wallet. Also, best ethereum wallets are used to store ETH coins. In addition, Ethereum has its own virtual machine — EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine), which was designed to run applications based on smart contracts and write high-quality decentralized applications in a few hours or days instead of weeks or months with other platforms.
Usually, the ethereum wallets have several private keys: one key is used to store ETH coins, another to pay them and a third one is required when transferring ETH from one wallet to another. Also, all keys are stored separately. This method significantly reduces the probability of hackers copying or stealing your coins.
Ethereum in Numbers
This cryptocurrency has grown much stronger in recent years and continues to grow on an almost daily basis. The majority of experts predict that this crypto currency will soon surpass bitcoin and become the best cryptocurrency in terms of price growth. At the end of 2016, analysts predicted that the number of new users who had already entered into cryptocurrency would reach 3.7 million people by 2021.
Ethereum is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies among users. The number of transactions that the Ethereum network manages is about 15,000 per day — that’s more than bitcoin. In addition, Ethereum has a smaller commission rate, and faster transaction processing time than bitcoin.
Ethereum Price Forecast
The value of ETH is tied to the demand for this cryptocurrency. As more institutions and ordinary users are interested in buying ETH, the price will continue to grow. At the end of 2016, many analysts predicted that by 2021, almost half a billion people would be using ETH as an alternative payment method for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum is the most popular alternative to bitcoin — at the end of 2017, the number of transactions that take place on Ethereum is about 14,000 per day. This number is significantly higher than in other cryptocurrencies.
The majority of experts predict that ETH will soon surpass bitcoin and become the most popular cryptocurrency in terms of price growth. By 2021, it is expected that 3.7 million users will begin using ETH as an alternative payment method. Also, more and more institutions are interested in integrating Ethereum into their business — some even use this option instead of using fiat money (USD / EUR).
If you anticipate buying ETH, be prepared to pay a significant commission. This is due to the high demand for this crypto currency, which makes ETH one of the most expensive crypto-currencies in the world. In addition, the faster transaction processing time is another important advantage of Ethereum over bitcoin.
Be aware that you can’t just buy it because whenever there is a new price record on any exchange network, Ethereum is being bought up by speculators who are interested in its potential growth. But keep in mind that investing in Ethereum does not always lead to profit; after all, any financial asset has a price volatility and sometimes decreases in value.
How to Buy Ethereum? (ETH)
You can buy ETH at several exchanges. This cryptocurrency is available on most platforms, including Kraken, Coinbase, Bittrex, and Bitfinex. Just make sure you have a money wallet set up before you buy this coin. If you are not familiar with different crypto exchanges, then use Coinbase or Bitfinex — they offer friendly interfaces that are intuitive and easy to use. If you are already familiar with the operation of such platforms, then CNBC recommends Binance or Kraken as the best options for buying ETH. Whatever option you choose — we recommend using a good cryptocurrency broker instead of an automatic exchange platform that allows users to transfer cryptocurrencies only from one escrow wallet to another. This is especially true for those who are planning to buy Ethereum with PayPal, as they cannot send money directly to another person. There is a problem of the quick transfer of money from one wallet to another — the main reason why many people don’t trust such transactions at all.
Before making a transaction, you will have to set up an escrow wallet (we recommend Blockchain.info). The process is very similar to creating a pay account on any e-commerce site (it should be noted that Blockchains wallets are multi-signature based). After you set up your wallet, you should choose an exchange platform where you want to buy Ethereum with PayPal and then create an account there. Some exchanges offer a service purchase Ether with credit card.
Buy Ethereum with PayPal — not a simple task
The main problem is that using such services almost always requires you to verify your identity, and that means providing information such as your home address, phone number and, in many cases, even bank account details. In other words, it may take you several days before you can start buying ETH for PayPal. And even after that you will have to go through the same verification procedure again every time you want to make another purchase — no matter how small your order will be.
Even if everything works according to plan, it does not mean that the fiat money from your PayPal account will be immediately transferred to your exchange wallet address. Firstly, your money will be converted into BTC first, and then only then it will be transferred to the exchange wallet.
There are also some serious disadvantages of using PayPal when buying Bitcoin with your credit cards. First of all, if you buy a cryptocurrency through PayPal, not all exchanges accept this way of payment. Secondly, it is usually very expensive — it is always much cheaper to make a bank transfer or pay with a card directly on an exchange website instead of using PayPal.
Credit cards allow you to purchase BTC instantly and directly from your bank account because they are connected to the bank account in question (though this should not be taken for granted — some banks may not allow their clients to buy cryptos at all).
On the other hand, you can use PayPal to buy Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies without having to verify your identity. Of course, for such a transfer, you must have an active PayPal account. But if you do not intend to continue using this method of payment for crypto transactions, then it may be better to open a separate PayPal account for this. To date, there is no way to check whether or not someone has an Ethereum account through the first PayPal profile.
Although reputable exchanges like Coinbase have stopped using PayPal when purchasing cryptos, it is still available on many sites and offers users fast transactions at very low cost — making it very popular among cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
Purchasing Ethereum on Coinbase
To use Coinbase, you first need to sign up for an account and set it up by providing your phone number, a link to your bank card and the address of a debit or credit card. However, it will take several days before you can use this account to buy ETH — after that, you will need to complete the identity verification procedure. However, some users say that they have managed to bypass this verification procedure by directly sending their coins from Coinbase to Bittrex or Kraken exchange platforms. To do this, you should create an additional wallet (not the one with which you register on Coinbase). After the transfer is completed, you can go to the trading platform of your choice and trade ETH for BTC. Then you need to transfer your ETH to another wallet (and make sure that it is not a wallet created in Coinbase) — this may take several days.
If you want to buy ETH instantly, choose one of the exchanges recommended earlier. However, if you want to know how Ethereum works or how to use all its functionalities, we suggest using Coinbase first as many users consider it very useful and convenient.
Best Ethereum Wallets (Online and Mobile)
Ethereum is a decentralized cryptocurrency, which means that you can use it from anywhere. But if your computer is hacked or you send your Ether to an incorrect wallet address, you cannot get them back. So always make sure that each transfer is made to one of the best Ethereum wallets.
Ethereum Wallet — has the most functionality, but at the same time, it’s not very convenient (you need to download this software on your computer). However, if you have several computers or mobile devices and want to manage ETH via remote access option, then choose this wallet as it allows you to create several wallets on one computer as well as on mobile devices.
Jaxx Mobile Wallet — if you use ETH only to make transactions, then this is a good wallet that will help you do it. If you want to store your Ether for a long time, then it’s better to find another option.
MyEtherWallet — it is also a web wallet that allows you to access existing wallets by adding new ones or create them. However, smart people do not recommend doing this because they consider using different wallets safer. You can create more than one wallet on MyEtherWallet and use the “watch only” option to view account details without providing private keys.
MetaMask Wallet — this is a browser extension that makes ETH transfers easier and more convenient.
Mist Wallet — it is a desktop wallet, which offers more options and better security than other web wallets. It’s also relatively easy to use. However, if your computer is infected with viruses and malware, you may lose all your coins.
Ethereum Wallet — has the most functionality, but at the same time, it’s not very convenient (you need to download this software on your computer). However, if you have several computers or mobile devices and want to manage ETH via remote access option, then choose this wallet as it allows you to create several wallets on one computer as well as on mobile devices. Jaxx Mobile Wallet — if you use ETH only to make transactions, then this is a good wallet that will help you do it. If you want to store your Ether for a long time, then it’s better to find another option. MyEtherWallet — it is also a web wallet that allows you to access existing wallets by adding new ones or create them. However, smart people do not recommend doing this because they consider using different wallets safer. You can create more than one wallet on MyEtherWallet and use the “watch only” option to view account details without providing private keys. MetaMask Wallet — this is a browser extension that makes ETH transfers easier and more convenient. Mist Wallet — it is a desktop wallet, which offers more options and better security than other web wallets. It’s also relatively easy to use. However, if your computer is infected with viruses and malware, you may lose all your coins. Ethereum is less attractive to cybercriminals than other cryptocurrencies because it is designed for creating Smart Contracts, not for storing money (ETH). Of course, if you have a large amount of ETH in a hot wallet (a wallet that does not require you to download additional software) then you should choose the best Ethereum wallet that will provide maximum security for storing your crypto currency in the long term.
The list of the best Ethereum wallets will be updated, so if you know about some other wallet that should be added to the rating, please let us know through a message.
Transfer your Ethereum from Coinbase to another wallet
There are several ways to transfer ETH from Coinbase to another wallet. The simplest way is the most common — you simply need to go to your trading platform and make a transaction (you may need to register a new account there). After that, you can withdraw your coins using an external address, which allows you to use this method not only in ETH. But if you want to send your funds faster and directly from Coinbase, then follow these steps:
1. Go to your Coinbase account and choose the “Accounts” tab.
2. Click the button next to your ETH wallet address. You will be provided with the link to connect to your wallet by using MyEtherWallet website.
3. Once you connect your Ethereum wallet, click on “Send Ether & Tokens”. Select the “explorer option”, enter the amount in ETH that you want to transfer and copy/paste an address of a crypto exchange platform or a wallet (if it is sent to another wallet). You can also write down the address in order to make a transaction to a specified wallet later.
4. Click “Generate Transaction”.
5. The transaction is now being sent to Ethereum blockchain. The next step is confirmation via email — you will need to confirm the receipt of Ether deposit. Some users report that they never received the confirmation email despite sending their ETH from Coinbase. In this case, it will be necessary to check whether the amount has been charged from your account or not, then contact support service and request further assistance if you want your money back (according to some users, they received their ETH back).
Conclusion:
be careful not to buy Ethereum with PayPal at suspicious exchanges — there are lots of scammers in the crypto world, so you might never get your money back. However, if you follow our instructions and choose legit trading platforms as the ones mentioned in this post, then you shouldn’t have any problems.
If there is something unclear or if you need more specific details about Ethereum wallets and exchange platforms in general, do not hesitate to leave us a message below.
