Before you watched the video, you’ve probably already googled what ethereum was but still couldn’t understand it because of the use of a lot of complicated jargon. In this video, we’ll be explaining everything you need to know about what ethereum is, what blockchains are, and of course, what to do if you want to invest in its cryptocurrency, Ether.
The Beginning of Ethereum
Ethereum is currently the most actively used blockchain globally, with its cryptocurrency Ether being the second-largest cryptocurrency next to Bitcoin. To fully establish how it reached this point, we’ll have to go back to 2013.
Ethereum was proposed by Vitalik Buterin, a Russian-Canadian programmer who was a writer and co-founder for Bitcoin Magazine in 2011. Vitalik launched the network alongside Gavin Wood, another famous cryptocurrency founding father credited for creating Polkadot and Kusama. In less than a year, he was able to start development as it was crowdfunded.
Ethereum started out on July 30, 2015, with an initial supply of 72 million ether coins. Unlike bitcoin, which was exclusively a cryptocurrency, Ethereum had become a platform that allowed developers to operate decentralized applications, branching out from just currency to even apps that no longer had central authority figures. This means that, unlike money that banks and governments control, Ethereum and all its apps and currency does not have a single person or a group of people regulating it. Instead, it utilizes the fantastic blockchain technology that stemmed from the creation of bitcoin.
Blockchain Technology
With the rise of bitcoin and the theme of decentralized currencies, people were in love with the fact that governments or banks would no longer control their money and that it was less susceptible to corruption. After bitcoin emerged out of nowhere and became the billion dollar market that it was in 2013, programmers realized that it could be more than just a currency that could be decentralized.
Because of this, Blockchain Technology, what was just a product of Bitcoin, was utilized by Vitalik Buterin and revolutionized the way apps are being used and made by programmers. Ethereum was created as an open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality to further allow for development without any personal hindrances.
Open-source was Buterin’s way of allowing it to continue developing with collaboration from the public. The OSS or Open-source software allowed for collaboration from the public. The source code could be easily distributed to any programmer who wanted to try and develop other things from it. This was proven to be a good choice in 2016 when a hacker could exploit a flaw in the program, stealing $50 million worth of Ether. The community voted to hard fork the blockchain, essentially changes its protocols, and reverse the theft.
Investing in Ether
Enough about the tech talk. Now that we’ve established how Ethereum came to be and how it operates, we’ll move on to making money, or should we say cryptocurrency, out of it. The first and most important step is to look for trading platforms. This is where you trade cryptocurrency with other people and exchange Ether for Bitcoin, Polkadot, Dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies. Coinbase, Bitfinex, eToro, Gemini, Binance, and Kraken are top platforms that other traders highly recommend.
After picking a platform, you’ll have to create an account, and then deposit currency into said account. These top platforms allow for easy deposits through your bank accounts or debit card. Most cryptocurrency exchanges don’t have minimums set, so you can start with as low as $10 or as high as you want. We suggest, however, that you start with an amount of money that you’re willing to part with.
Just like real estate or the stock market exchange, losing money is part of the learning curve, and you obviously won’t be earning money right out of the bat. We suggest using small amounts of money and learning how it works first before investing a larger amount. If you enjoyed this video and found it informative, please don’t forget to like and subscribe.
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