In the recent few years, the interest in cryptocurrencies around the world peaked enormously. Of course, the main factor was that being bound to a virtually endless plane, the fact that Bitcoin and its counterparts enabled potentially endless profit for the investors have put cryptocurrencies on the rise. It has started to be regarded as a “serious currency” even in the developing corners of the world, people beginning to weigh real values on them, search engines showing the exchanging rates of any monetary currency to leading cryptocurrencies by default, and more changes to attest to their rise in popularity.
However, the leading giant Bitcoin has recently started to experience a rough fall, also seeming to slowly lose its charm on the “big sharks”. Although raising eyebrows on every big change, this is considered normal for such a market that’s very open to manipulative interceptions.
When it was made public in 2015, Ethereum was seen by many as a copycat trying to mimic Bitcoin like countless others and squeeze some free market for itself. But Ethereum steadily had record growth thanks to its uniqueness and is still doing so with little downs and big ups.
Why Ethereum?
Contrary to manual transactions you have to make when you use BTC and its derivatives, the smart contracts used with the Ethereum blockchain aim to have endless applications.
A smart contract is a program in which the ETH currency is automatically transferred when certain conditions are met: for example, if the work is submitted, the contract is signed on a certain date or at a certain time. This makes it possible to conclude much more complex financial agreements with Ethereum. Or within the workplace, employees who receive wages per hour can receive payments in a digital time card thanks to the use of the blockchain. Also, international goods paired with tracking numbers can be easily returned with different time frames and different banking methods.
Smart contracts can also be used for simple operations such as making purchases on the Internet. Imagine, for example, that you bought a T-shirt on the Internet. The contract, which is the subject of this transaction, involves the fact that the establishment from which you purchased the T-shirt will package and ship the product and deliver it within the specified time. You notice that the T-shirt came in the wrong color when it was delivered, and you decide to return the product. You would almost immediately get your refund and then the contract would be safely closed. Another big advantage is that Ethereum is currently the main currency for the global NFT market, which puts it into more solid grounds concerning its future among the others.
So, basically, thanks to the flexibility of usage the Ethereum offers, the money you invested on Ethereum would not feel like it’s locked in an unreachable vault which you can do nothing but watch. Even if you like it that way, thanks to these convenient ways people around the world constantly use it and keep it alive relevant, you can be sure that Ethereum is a good purchase. Investing in Ethereum should be seen as investing directly in blockchain technology.
Security and Potential Risks
Now, apart from smart contracts in business deals and other transactions, what about the personal initiative? Well, while Ethereum seems to be steadily reaching for the second pocket on the grid behind Bitcoin, this may turn it into a giant competition between two in a not so distant future, but it also would make it a big opportunity for thieves and bit-rogues today as the Ethereum logo caught their eyes recently. Thanks to its different decentralization network and the fact that it has its own unique encryption algorithm called Ethash, while many others have SHA-256, which is also pretty secure, Ethereum also promises the investor a solid opportunity to safely fund their future investments on it.
Naturally, all kinds of investments involve various risks. The common investor advice “only make investments that you can afford” applies to crypto-currency as well, just like it applies to traditional investments, such as precious metals, oil, or crop stocks. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets are affected by real-world stock market performance, even if they have fewer fluctuations than before. But especially as the use of Ethereum blockchain technology increases, its price will just keep rising. Also, the fact that many other crypto-currencies are based on the Ethereum network alone means that with the maturation of the crypto market, ETH may just become a smarter investment over any other kind in the long run.
How to Begin?
To invest in Ethereum, you just need to buy ETH currency. Obviously, you will also need a crypto wallet to store it. We at IXFI offer free personalized crypto wallets for storing your Ethereum and other coins.
Of course, you want to be able to track the price of your Ethereum so that you can decide when to sell and convert your investment back into money whenever you want. Ideally, you want an exchanger with a modern, easy-to-use design that you can access from your main computer or smartphone. IXFI has got you covered in all of these departments, with a secure wallet, a modern design that anyone can use and the ability to follow closely what’s happening in the market, directly on our website and upcoming app.
Besides exchange platforms, the other way to own ETH would be to begin mining Ethereum on your own, but Ethereum mining does not use ASIC and CPU mining, unlike Bitcoin and other altcoins. GPU mining is the one for Ethereum since GPU, i.e. graphics cards are more effective and efficient in solving difficult blocks. For Ethereum mining, you need a good video card and some software that you can fetch from Github. In this way, you can also get involved in a profitable system called ‘pool’, that is, a pool that gives gifts per solved block, something which Monero also uses.
Again, you would still need to have a wallet when mining or buying and selling, this time to hold it locally, and the whole responsibility will be in your hands. Despite sounding easy to pursue, this method is not recommended since considering that getting into the blockchain queue would take too long for today’s high-demanding Ethereum, and to properly be able to squeeze Ethers from it, you would definitely need way more pieces than a single GPU at your service.
The Strategy
Before diving into Ethereum as an investment, the investor should ask whether he/she prospects ETH as a long-term or short-term one.
1. As a long-term investment, you can choose to store your Ether for many years, hoping that the Ethereum network, smart contracts, and decentralized applications will become mainstream (foreseeable with a high development rate today). If this happens, everyone who invests heavily in Ethereum will be in a strong market position.
2. But the long-term strategy means that you are missing out on the potential short-term gains that the exchange of Ethereum brings to the market. The risky but sweet recommendation would be actively trading ETH to earn money by buying low and selling high. This not only provides a profit that can be used immediately but also allows investors to learn very important lessons about ETH’s fluctuations in the market and get a better grasp of its long-term value.
3. A mixed approach, in which a large part of the ETH is held as a long-term investment, and some of it is actively used on buy-low-sell-high strategy, is visibly the best method for investors who could afford it.
So we have placed our bids. What now? Before the launch of all crypto-currencies, a vision, a roadmap, and strategies are created and they are presented to the crypto-currency communities. For many cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, it is important to follow the updates and milestones that may affect prices in the future. Therefore, for an investor, it is mandatory to go to the official website of Ethereum and carefully study the roadmap made available there.
What to take away from this
As long as computers and electricity exist, Ethereum is definitely worth buying. The success of the unique Ethereum network in its still youth and its control over many others has proven that ETH may be permanent and that as the blockchain technology becomes more widespread, the place of Ethereum in the financial world will keep gaining importance.
Just be sure to purchase Ethereum through a platform that offers good bonuses for your investment and provides you with the tools you need to be able to effectively manage your assets.
So there’s no better time to join us and make use of the many innovative tools and features put at your fingertips by your trusty exchange partner. Trade safely with IXFI.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is not investment advice and does not constitute an offer or solicitation to offer or recommendation of any investment product. It is for general purposes only and does not take into account your individual needs, investment objectives and specific financial and fiscal circumstances.
Although the material contained in this article was prepared based on information from public and private sources that IXFI believes to be reliable, no representation, warranty or undertaking, stated or implied, is given as to the accuracy of the information contained herein, and IXFI expressly disclaims any liability for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this article.
Investment involves risk; any ideas or strategies discussed herein should therefore not be undertaken by any individual without prior consultation with a financial professional for the purpose of assessing whether the ideas or strategies that are discussed are suitable to you based on your own personal financial and fiscal objectives, needs and risk tolerance. IXFI expressly disclaims any liability or loss incurred by any person who acts on the information, ideas or strategies discussed herein.
