If you have ever read anything to do with cryptocurrencies chances are you have heard about Ethereum.

Ethereum (ETH) sits at number 2 in the cryptocurrency ranking by market cap and it is very obvious to see why.

We have a full Ethereum article you can have a deep dive in to HERE. 

But for now, let’s have a breakdown of what Ethereum is and why it is so popular.

Ethereum is the product of super-genius Vitalik Buterin. A Russian-Canadian who first described his plans for Ethereum in 2013 at the tender age of 19. I know, it puts most people to shame… us very much included.

His vision was to create a blockchain where others could build their own decentralised applications or dApps, creating a whole eco-system of cryptocurrencies and protocols all built using the Ethereum blockchain.

Ethereum is to cryptocurrencies and decentralised applications, as Java script is to the internet.

The programming language designed by the Ethereum team is called Solidity. Anyone can use this programming language to build a dApp or smart contract and deploy this on the Ethereum blockchain.

There are countless cryptocurrencies built on Ethereum and it by far has the most activity.

Investing in Ethereum feels like what I can imagine investing in early successful internet stocks was like in the 1990s. IBM, Amazon, Apple etc. This really is a game-changer and that is reflected in the rankings.

The greater cryptocurrencies become and as wider everyday adoption becomes apparent, it is clear that a lot of these projects will need a platform to build their idea on to. Ethereum has the best track record and is the go-to blockchain for the worlds-best, decentralised applications such as AAVE, YFI, OCEAN and many more.

There are setbacks to Ethereum though and these can’t be overlooked. Currently, Ethereum is a victim of its own success. The network is heavily congested and because of this, the validators who say if a transaction is valid or not are processing the highest paying customers. This has led to something known as gas-fees being ridiculously high.

Gas-fees are the price you pay whilst using the Ethereum network and the dApps within it. If you are using a decentralised exchange such as Uniswap, to trade two coins it can cost around $50 at the current time.

This is not to be mistaken for how much it costs to buy Ethereum which I will walk you through later in the article. To repeat, it does not cost $50 to buy Ethereum just to interact with dApps on the Ethereum blockchain, which more than likely, you won’t be doing.

But, it isn’t all doom and gloom. As always, great minds pull together and build successful workarounds to ensure that the fees will, over time, be reduced to affordable levels once more. These solutions are known as Layer 2 and I will write a full article on Layer 2 in the coming days.

So, once Ethereum gas fees drop again and their scaling issue is resolved, you can see how Ethereum will be coiled and ready to explode once more. This is why so many people hold ETH in their portfolios.

How to buy Ethereum? – 2021

First, you need to sign up for an exchange. Luckily for you, I have done the hard work for you and here it is AAX.

You can sign up here for reduced trading fees win-win.

So once you sign up you will be asked for your name, DOB and a photograph of a government-issued ID.

This is the home page you will see. When I say it couldn’t be easier, it physically couldn’t be easier unless I did it for you and no before you ask, I won’t…

If you wanted it to be that easy you can simply select your currency and say what you want to buy.

That’s literally it… Using this method you can buy BTC, ETH, USDT, TRX and BAT.

AAX has a wide selection of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the market including its own native platform currency AAB.

Not only that AAX is one of the most reliable exchanges out there and proudly keeps the lights on when other big exchanges often halt withdrawals and deposits during busy times.

I always recommend to our clients that you have AAX even if it is just for busy times. But, I will warn you… you will stay.

Why wouldn’t you? The user interface is the most user friendly out there and to top it all off… they are powered by the London Stock Exchange Groups Technology’s Millenium Exchange. Bringing scalable, trustworthy powerful exchanges to the cryptocurrency markets.

Scan the QR code to get started with AAX today!

Let’s take a look at how you would trade ETH on AAX.

Once you have bought ETH, you may want to trade it. This might be because of your trading strategy or because you want to cash out.

Click “Spot” at the top of the homepage. This is spot buying. Spot buying is buying a coin at the current market price or putting in an order to buy the coin at a designated price.

If we want to trade ETH, we need to now search for the market pair which is available to trade by typing the ticker name, in this case, ETH.

As you can see, ETH can be traded for USDT. USDT is just a stablecoin that always holds the same value as $1.

If you are looking to trade day trade ETH you could effectively sell your ETH for USDT when the price increases and then buy it back at a lower price… Easier said than done.

Here you can see a few things. The ETH/USDT graph with a candlestick pattern below is where your orders will show up, whilst to the right, you can see your Buy and Sell sections.

If you are happy to pay the current price for ETH then head over to Market. This effectively purchases ETH at the current market price.

Note – Market might not automatically be selected so be careful you don’t set a limit order when you don’t intend to. If you are unsure about this ask us on our Telegram.

If you think ETH is due a small dip and you would rather wait, but don’t have all day to stare at the chart. You can always set a buy order. This is done in the limit section.

For example, you could place a buy order at $1400 for ETH and hope the price comes down in the meantime to fill your order. If it doesn’t however, the transaction will not go through.

On the other hand, if you already own ETH and you want to place a sell order, you would do the same. You could, for example, put a sell order for $2000 for ETH and hopefully one day this bid will be filled.

Once you have bought your coin (ETH in this example), it will be in your Ethereum wallet automatically generate in AAX.

You can view this by selecting the wallets drop-down menu at the top and clicking on Spot.

Here you will be able to see your full portfolio and your % holdings of each.

Another brilliant feature of AAX is that has a passive income earning feature known as AAX vaults.

Although this feature is only available for a select few coins, you can deposit your coins into a vault to earn interest, as you would in a regular savings account.

First, check if your coins are available for their savings feature. Next transfer how many of that specific coin into your savings account. Click allocate.

Next, follow the steps carefully to deposit your coins and earn interest.

This is a great way to earn passive income if you are not planning on selling your coins in the short term.

That’s it. If you haven’t yet signed up to AAX then you can do that by following this link here.

Join the AAX Tribe today!

If it still isn’t making sense to you and you want a helping hand, you can book a one-to-one through our website.

Sign up to AAX by scanning the QR code below.

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