There has been an absolute ton of activity surrounding Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other crypto currencies this year. The buzz is undeniable, and more people than ever before have begun to buy into the blockchain technologies, which are poised to change everything we know about money and investments. In 2009, Bitcoin blockchain was born. Being the first of its kind, Bitcoin had to prove itself through trials and real-world applications.
Fast forward to 2021, and Bitcoin has exploded, along with Ethereum, the second most popular crypto coin, and home to the entire De-Fi universe.
So, what exactly does Ethereum do? And why should it be important to the average person today?
What is Ethereum?
The Ethereum blockchain is decentralized and operates on a public, verifiable, ledger anyone who hold ETH, Ethereum’s coins, can check and verify the ledger anytime. In this way, Ethereum is much like Bitcoin, with a pretty large difference, which is that Bitcoin gets mined by solving incredibly hard, mathematical equations, that take lots of electricity to obtain.
Ethereum doesn’t make miners use power to expedite new blockchains from forming. The newest blocks get formed by “proof of stake” which awards ETH, to current Ethereum investors, and not by who solves the equations faster.
Ethereum, just like Bitcoin is finite and will not exceed the predetermined amount of ETH to ever come into the market, making Ethereum a limited and asset to own.
Moreover, Ethereum powers the De-Fi network which allows smart contract and other blockchains to function upon its back. You can think of Ethereum being the actual internet, where everything else online gets built from.
How can Ethereum Impact Everyday Living?
The potential for Ethereum powered smart contracts is limitless. Anything can be developed on Ethereum such as finance contracts, messaging phone apps, navigation systems, payment processing centers and more.
Being decentralized makes Ethereum uncorrupt able like centralized banking is today. No one person, company, or entity, owns Ethereum or its smart contract processes. When you own Eth and store it offline, in some type of cold storage wallet, your money can not be taken away from you by anyone, for any reason, unless you provide them access to your crypto funds and account.
The newest applications for Ethereum blockchain technologies include satellite communications, cell phone messaging apps, payment processors, and others.
How to Purchase Ethereum (ETH)
There are a few ways to buy crypto coins like Ethereum and Bitcoin. You can go to an online brokerage such as Coinbase or Crypto.com, where you can sign up for a new account and start buying crypto within minutes. If you decide to go this route, be sure to research the online exchange and ensure they can keep your coins safe, and even insure your balance from theft, or loss.
You can move your crypto from the online exchange after you buy some, into an offline cold storage wallet like a Trezor One. This way, your crypto coins are stored offline and securely, away from hackers looking to score.
Another option is to purchase Ethereum, or any other crypto coins, from a decentralized exchange like UniSwap and forego the extra fees associated with online exchanges.
However, decentralized exchanges are more challenging to navigate, and you can potentially loose your coins for good, if you don’t understand how to properly use the exchange, or your wallet’s buying suite.
Conclusion
Hopefully this helps you to better understand the importance of decentralized finance and crypto currencies like Ethereum. The fact that anyone can access Ethereum, send, or receive money, and even create their own De-Fi apps is outstanding. Never in history have so many people had equal access to the most valuable currency we’ve ever created.
Not to mention that 2022 is still going to be considered the ground floor, as more general acceptance of cryptocurrency grows, the higher Ethereum will be worth. Those who understand that may be involved with a gigantic opportunity to change their financial situation.
Remember that getting financial advice from a licensed professional is highly recommended before you risk any of your hard-earned money in the volatile crypto markets. But there is no denying that Ethereum and Bitcoin are here to stay and add value to everybody’s lives in more ways than one!
