Ethereum had a strong run in 2023, and kicked off 2024 with a bang as the potential for regulatory approval of Ethereum exchange-traded funds became clearer. While the cryptocurrency is still below its all-time high set in 2021, it remains a popular choice among traders looking to buy crypto. As a result they have created Ethereum financial products to provide clients some alternative options for investing. At this point technology like cryptocurrency is as alternative as it gets.

If you’re looking to buy Ethereum, you’ll need to work with a broker or cryptocurrency exchange that can help you place trades. If you are looking for similar projects to Ethereum then you might want to check out some other cryptocurrencies. There are two ways in which the transaction would work when you go to make a payment. One way is that the card application will require you to exchange crypto to fiat before you make a purchase. With a market capitalization of over $380.51 billion as of July 25, 2024, it’s the second leading form of cryptocurrency and has support from business leaders like Mark Cuban.

A cryptocurrency wallet is a storage device or application for your coins. Consider using a hardware wallet for maximum security or opt for a reputable software wallet. Your wallet app can often act as a crypto portfolio tracker, allowing you to manage how your holdings over time. Research and select a reputable cryptocurrency exchanges or crypto broker that support Ethereum trading. You can purchase Ethereum on decentralized and centralized exchanges worldwide. Some well-known payment platforms, such as PayPal, also provide a way to buy crypto.

Non-custodial wallets: Requires setup, but you’re in control

In comparing various financial products and services, we are unable to compare every provider in the market so our rankings do not constitute a comprehensive review of a particular sector. While we do go to great lengths to ensure our ranking criteria matches the concerns of consumers, we cannot guarantee that every relevant feature of a financial product will be reviewed. We make every effort to provide accurate and up-to-date information.

While it’s called a cryptocurrency, Ethereum may be more accurately thought of as a token that powers these various functions. Buying Ether is a little more complicated than just buying stocks or mutual funds through your current brokerage account. Cryptocurrencies aren’t traded on major exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and many brokerages don’t offer crypto investing. When choosing a funding method, review the crypto exchange’s fees; they can vary based on the method. For example, wire transfers are free on CoinDCX, but the platform charges 0.5% on net banking. One of the most cost-effective methods to purchase Ethereum in Canada is via an online cryptocurrency platform, like VirgoCX.

how to buy ethereum

Buy ETH in a few steps

Trading fees range between 0.16% to 0% for makers and 0.26% to 0.10% for takers. Makers create liquidity by posting trades to the order book, while takers take away liquidity by fulfilling the orders within the order book. In an upcoming section, we will look at some of the best Ethereum wallets to store your coins. The process is a lot simpler when using a decentralized exchange (DEX). DEXes often dispense with the use of KYC to verify the identity of users. However, when the upgrade is contentious within a blockchain community, it often leads to a network split where a part of the community supports the changes while the other part hycm mt4 broker review opposes.

Futures fees also vary between 0.02% to 0.00% and 0.05% to 0.01% for makers and takers, respectively. Once you have chosen a payment method, you can then move on to the next step. To ensure safety, Gemini holds most of its assets in an offline, cold storage system, with only a portion of each investor’s holding held in its  Hot Wallet. Additionally, all Gemini accounts are required to implement two-factor authentications, boosting security. You can also buy Ethereum on KuCoin’s Peer-to-Peer (P2P) trading platform without charges or fees. Thus, you can buy ETH freely without worrying about extra charges eating into your profits.

How to Buy Ethereum (ETH)

As of July create your own swatch wallets 25, 2024, ETH is trading at $3,181, with a market capitalization of $380.51 billion. Its all-time high was $4,891 three years ago and has increased by 71.83% from the past year. If you invested $1,000 in Ethereum in August 2015, your investment would be worth a staggering $2.23 million almost six years later. Allow your users directly use on-ramp from fiat currency into an on-chain protocol in just one step. Integrate Transak in your application today and allow your users to buy/sell crypto within seconds.

Buy Ethereum with another crypto

In December 2024, its price briefly topped $4,000 before starting a monthslong slide, bringing it under $2,000 in March 2025. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. This risk is higher with Cryptocurrencies due to markets being decentralized and non-regulated.

How can I buy Bitcoin in Canada?

As we’ve noted before, you are better off avoiding exchange wallets since they are more vulnerable to attacks. The best alternative is to have a self-custody wallet that will let you control your private keys. Trading facilities offered by Kraken are spot, margin, Futures, and over-the-counter (OTC) trading. Spot trading is the immediate settlement of trades at the prevailing market prices. On the other hand, margin trading is the use of leverage to amplify trading positions, thereby amplifying potential profits or losses. After buying your ETH coins, move them to a wallet whose keys you control.

Unlike Bitcoin, which primarily serves as a decentralised digital currency, Ethereum enables developers to build decentralised applications (dapps) using its programmable blockchain. This option requires you to set up a wallet and transfer the crypto you bought elsewhere onto it. There are many wallets to choose from, and they fall into two groups. “Hot” wallets store your crypto online and give you access through an app or a browser extension.

With an announced transition to POS, officials from the CFTC have noted that providing the ability to ‘stake’ tokens may result in being classified as a security. Ethereum presented an interesting case, as regulators noted that, although the asset may have begun its life as a security, it has since evolved beyond that classification. This is due to a lack of centralized oversight, and its ability to function autonomously with no direct benefactor. Many view Ethereum as striving to achieve the ‘Internet 2.0’; A platform that eliminates the need for centralized operations, bringing democracy, and security, simultaneously to our data needs. In doing so, Ethereum is, essentially, giving power over data back to the user.

The network operates on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which processes smart contracts—self-executing agreements that run without intermediaries. You’ll need a way to securely store the private keys that allow you to sell, spend or otherwise use your digital currencies. The storage options an exchange offers — or doesn’t — can be a deciding factor when choosing where to buy Ethereum . To recap, we looked at what Ethereum is and why you’d want to invest in it. We also reviewed how to choose the best platform to buy the asset, including some popular platforms that you can use to start. This method allows users to engrave or print an Ethereum account’s private keys onto a steel plate or a piece of paper, respectively.

The latter means that the wallet downloads the complete blockchain ledger to the device in which it is installed, while the former means that the wallet does not hold the complete copy of the ledger. Instead, lite client wallets request information about the blockchain from the full nodes. Between June and July of 2016, Ethereum faced a contentious remote web developer salary and definitive moment that saw a faction of the community split off due to a difference in opinion. The debate revolved around a major theft incident in which a hacker made away with $150 million worth of ETH. Some supported reverting the Ethereum blockchain to invalidate the theft, while others were against this action.

We are not a registered investment adviser and this is not investment advice. Remember to always store your coins in a wallet of which you have complete control. There are no fees for holding your Ether coins in your PayPal account.