Before starting the process to buy Ethereum you will need to get an Ethereum wallet to hold your Ether. There are many types of Ethereum wallets. Here is a short breakdown of the most popular Ethereum wallets.
Ethereum Hardware wallets
Hardware wallets are the most secure way for storing Ether. It’s a piece of hardware that you connect to your computer (just like a flash drive) that stores your Ethereum private keys offline. A hardware wallet is probably the optimal mix between security and convenience you can find. The main hardware wallets that support Ethereum are Ledger and TREZOR.
Electrum Software wallets
If you’re just starting out with Ethereum, don’t have a lot of Ether to store or don’t have the money to buy a hardware wallet you can use free software wallets. These wallets are free of charge but are less secure since they are constantly connected to the Internet (and therefore can be hacked). The top Ethereum wallets for beginners are Exodus (for desktop), Edge (for mobile) and MyEtherWallet (for desktop / mobile).
Where To Buy Ethereum?
The easiest way to buy Ethereum (i.e. Ether) would be through one of the popular Ethereum exchanges which are listed below.
1. Coinmama
Coinmama – A worldwide seller of Ethereum that has been working in the cryptospace since 2013. The site allows you to buy Ethereum with your credit card or bank wire transfer (SEPA and SWIFT). Exchange rates are relatively fair especially if you use SEPA transfers.
2. eToro
eToro – If you’re only into Ethereum for price speculation and don’t need to hold the actual coins or send them to anyone else, eToro is probably the easiest and cheapest option. The company allows you to buy and sell Ethereum for fiat currency (USD, EUR, etc.) without access to the actual coins.
If you’re using eToro you can skip step 1 of getting an Ethereum wallet since you won’t be able to send any coins outside of the platform.
Cryptocurrencies can widely fluctuate in prices and are not appropriate for all investors. Trading cryptocurrencies is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. So keep in mind that your capital is at risk.
3. CEX.io
Cex.io is a cryptocurrency exchange that allows you to buy Ether with a credit card. If you use the company’s brokerage service (buying directly from the exchange) the fees will already be calculated into the exchange rate, that’s why it will seem higher than other exchanges. If you want to get better rates try using the site’s trading platform (suited for more advanced users).
- Open a CEX.io account
- Add your payment method (Credit card or bank account)
- Go to “Buy/Sell” and select Ethereum
- Choose the amount of Ethereum you want to buy
- Click on “buy Ethereum”
4. Coinbase
Coinbase is a convenient and cheap way to buy Ethereum and the platform is open to 100+ countries). Coinbase will sell you ETH for a fee of 1.49%-3.99% depending on your payment method (credit cards have a higher fee than wire transfers). Here’s how you buy Ethereum on Coinbase:
- Open a Coinbase account
- Add your payment method (Credit card or bank account)
- Go to “Buy/Sell” and select the amount of Ethereum you desire
- Click “Buy Ethereum”
5. Bitpanda
Bitpanda is a cryptocurrency exchange specializing in buying and selling cryptos inside the Eurozone. The company has a pretty intuitive interface for purchasing Ethereum and other cryptos and the service is relatively quick. The only issue is that there are no listed transaction fees and you’ll need to calculate the fee charged from the final price.
Conclusion
Ethereum is a disruptive technology that is set to change how the Internet works. Whether it succeeds or not remains to be seen, but for now you can easily get your share of “the Internet’s future” by following the steps mentioned above.
As Ethereum becomes more popular its currency, Ether, seems to be gaining momentum and appreciating in price. But as always cryptocurrencies are a very risky investment and things can change in a heartbeat (as demonstrated by Ethereum’s colossal price drop during 2018).