How To Buy Ethereum?

If you’re thinking of making a foray into the world of crypto investments, you might want to check out the trendiest cryptocurrencies you should invest in, in 2018. However, if you’d like to stick with the tried and tested cryptocurrencies for investment purposes, Ethereum, which is the second largest in terms of market cap right now, can be a great idea. Since it’s not easy to tread the waters of crypto world all by yourself, here we tell you how to buy Ethereum in a number of ways.

What is the Difference Between Ethereum and Ether?

Now first things first, let’s address a major confusion a lot of you might have. What is Ethereum and how does it differ from Ether? To answer it in simple terms, Ethereum is the blockchain-based platform while Ether (ETH) is the token that powers it. What one must remember is that the two terms are often used interchangeably and even CoinMarketCap, a leading source of crypto prices and rankings names it as Ethereum. However, by saying buying Ethereum, we mean buying Ether tokens. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s move on to some ways of buying Ethereum.

What are the Ways To Buy Ethereum?

Ethereum can be bought in either of two broad ways. One would be to simply buy it from an authorized cryptocurrency exchange that lists Ethereum. The other would be to use PayPal to buy Ethereum, which takes a slightly roundabout route.

Buying Ethereum From Exchanges:

One can simply use one’s debit card or credit card to pay the exchange like you’d pay a restaurant at the end of a meal and Ether tokens become yours. However, one must be careful to not leave the Ethers they’ve bought with the exchange. It is advisable to have them transferred immediately to a storage wallet for safety purposes. Of the various cryptocurrency exchanges, some that are reputed and do trade in Ethereum are named as follows:

1. Coinbase
2. Coinmama
3. BitPanda
4. Cex.io

One must keep in mind that sometimes, exchanges like eToro, do not allow you to actually buy and trade in Ethers. Instead, what they allow is for you to speculate on prices and make money out of it. It is essential to remain aware of this key difference before making a purchase.

Buying Ethereum Using PayPal

Cryptocurrencies can usually not be bought using PayPal because of an inherent conflict of systems. While PayPal allows chargebacks, cryptocurrencies should ideally not be allowed to have that as doing so allows hackers and scammers to take over and swindle off crypto funds. Therefore, one way of buying Ethereum using PayPal would be to buy Bitcoin with PayPal and then have it converted. VirWox is considered to be the leading platform for the same. Alternatively, one can also use PayPal to buy Ethereum through a platform such as LocalEthereum that simply brings together buyers and sellers, usually anonymously to exchange ETH in return for PayPal payments. One obvious disadvantage of this is that one has to do the due diligence by oneself and also pay a higher price, at least most of the time.

Once you’ve bought Ethereum, make sure to store it securely and you can choose from different types of Ethereum wallet: mobile, web and hardware. These storage options come in varying degrees of cost-effectiveness and security and an investor can easily choose according to his or her needs.