What is Ethereum? Use Case, Comparision & How to Buy

Ethereum enables everyone – regardless of their background or location – to have access to digital money and data-friendly services. It is the technology that powers the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and millions of apps available today.

1. What is Ethereum?

As of April 2022, Ethereum is the second most valuable cryptocurrency in the world, after only Bitcoin. Ethereum’s key components

Smart contracts: Rules that regulate when and under what conditions money can be exchanged.
Ethereum’s blockchain: The blockchain stores a record of Ethereum’s complete history — every transaction and smart contract call.
Mechanism of Consensus: The mechanism for confirming and recording data on the blockchain; it also contributes to network security and is in charge of putting new tokens into circulation.
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM): A type of virtual machine that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. The element of Ethereum that implements Ethereum’s rules and ensures that a submitted transaction or smart contract complies with the rules.
Ether: Ethereum’s token, which is necessary to conduct transactions and execute smart contracts on the Ethereum platform.

2. What does Ethereum do – ETH use cases?

Ethereum can fuel a variety of apps that perform a variety of functions:

Currency: You may transfer and receive ether using a cryptocurrency wallet, as well as pay for products and services if the digital currency is accepted as payment. Some sites, like Coinbase, even enable you to store your money in a digital wallet, making them less vulnerable to hackers in theory.
Smart contracts: are a type of permission-less program that executes automatically when the contract’s criteria are satisfied.
Ethereum enables digital apps that let users play games, invest, send money, maintain an investment portfolio, follow social media, and more.
Non-fungible tokens: These tokens, which can be powered by Ethereum, enable artists and others to sell paintings or other products directly to purchasers using smart contracts.
Decentralized finance: Some persons may be able to bypass centralized (government) control over the transfer of money or other assets by utilizing Ethereum.
Again, it may be more realistic to see Ethereum as a token that powers numerous apps rather than a coin that lets users transmit money to one another.

3. The History of Ethereum

When the Ethereum network debuted in 2015, it was the first project to broaden the use cases of blockchains by providing novel technology that enabled anyone to construct their own digital currencies and self-sustaining, autonomous apps. This breakthrough cleared the door for a wide range of markets, including decentralized finance (DeFi), initial coin offers (ICOs), GameFi, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

4. How to buy Ethereum?

4.1. Select a Trading Platform

The type of exchange is one of the most important factors to consider when selecting a cryptocurrency trading platform. Fiat exchanges or cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency exchanges are two types of cryptocurrency trading platforms (C2C). Investors can easily trade Ethereum on fiat exchanges because it is one of the world’s two largest cryptocurrencies. Coinbase, Gemini and eToro are the most popular exchanges for buying Ethereum, although there are many more that allow you to do so.

When deciding whether or not to trade, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Where is the headquarters located?
Do they have a permit?
What is the level of security on their website?
How safe are your funds?
Who are the top executives?

4.2. Register for an Account

To open an account with a crypto exchange, you’ll likely need to supply some personal information and authenticate your identity. Connecting your bank account or debit card will allow you to fund your account. Based on the method you select, you may face additional costs.

You don’t want to keep your uninvested money sitting in your account as you would with any other investing account, so don’t fund your account just yet. At this stage, you’ll need to buy Ethereum in order to begin investing.

4.3. Deposit Money

Next, fund your account with currency. For fiat money systems, this is usually straightforward following payment verification. Add money to your bank account or debit card. You may invest as little as $10 or as much as $5,000 or more on cryptocurrency exchanges. Most exchanges charge per trade, thus trading big sums can save money.

Currency deposits in C2C exchanges might be tricky. These exchanges require you to transmit bitcoin via code. Many C2C sites accept Ethereum as a deposit currency, so having a lot of it might be helpful. Code transfers take a little longer, up to an hour.

4.4. Start Trading

After funding your account, you may swap your dollars for Ethereum. Simply enter the USD amount to exchange for Ethereum. Depending on the price of Ethereum and how much you wish to buy, you may be buying shares of a single currency. Your purchase will be displayed as a proportion of total ether coins.

4.5. Withdraw ETH into a Wallet

After buying ETH on the exchange, you may withdraw it to your bank account or a wallet you control. To withdraw ETH from a fiat exchange, just sell and transmit the money to your bank account. C2C platforms take longer. C2C platforms need you to code-transfer your ETH into currency and then sell it to pay out. On all platforms, you may send ETH to a wallet.

5. Bitcoin vs. Ethereum: What’s the Difference?

While both BTC and ETH are digital currencies, ether’s primary objective is not to develop an alternative monetary system but to simplify and monetise the functioning of the Ethereum smart contract and decentralized application platform.

Ethereum is another application for a blockchain that serves as a backbone for the Bitcoin network and, ideally, should not be in direct competition with Bitcoin. However, ether’s prominence has brought it into rivalry with all other cryptocurrencies, particularly from a trader’s standpoint. Since its introduction in mid-2015, ether has consistently been behind bitcoin in rankings of the leading cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

More importantly, though, the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks are different with respect to their overall aims. While bitcoin was created as an alternative to national currencies and thus aspires to be a medium of exchange and a store of value, Ethereum was intended as a platform to facilitate immutable, programmatic contracts and applications via its own currency.

6. Is Ethereum a good investment?

Those who bought and held Ethereum years ago have done well. Even though prices have moved a lot in the last few days, it’s important to know what you’re investing in. It also comes from this point of view that people who buy Ethereum are buying a virtual currency that doesn’t have any real assets or money coming in.

That may seem like a small thing, but it’s the main difference between stocks and digital money. A stock is a small part of a business, so its performance over time is based on how well that business is doing. If the business makes more money, its stock is likely to follow. Those who own stock in a business have a legal say in how much money and assets that business has.

It’s very different from Ethereum, which has nothing to back it. People who invest in crypto coins think they’ll be able to sell them later for more money, which is called the “greater fool theory.” Speculation is the only thing that is making Ethereum and other cryptos go up.