In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies, Ethereum (ETH) has unarguably been one of the most promising assets since its launch in 2015. Second, only to Bitcoin in terms of market cap (and perhaps popularity too), Ethereum has the distinctive advantage of being the foundational pillar of many fast-evolving technologies such as smart contracts and DeFi, just to name a couple.
We hope that by the time you’re done reading this article, you’ll have developed a fair bit of knowledge about the Ethereum ecosystem including what makes Ethereum valuable, whether or not ETH makes a good investment choice in 2020 (and subsequently in 2021), and how you can buy Ethereum using debit or credit cards.
Why Ethereum?
With Bitcoin (BTC) seemingly on a major rally, almost all major cryptocurrencies including Ethereum are following suit by staying in the green. However, as always, the Ethereum ecosystem is so vast and resourceful that it has its own thing going in the background that many analysts believe is certain to boost the ETH price in 2021 independently of the BTC rally.
But before we get into that, let’s skim through the underlying strengths of the Ethereum network.
Ethereum’s Technological Prowess
One of the foremost reasons Ethereum massively grew in popularity shortly after launch was its underlying technology. The Ethereum blockchain is written in Turing-complete code language. Simply put, a computational network can be Turing-complete only if it has the ability to run any algorithm. Also known as the so-called “world computer,” Ethereum enables rules to be written in a way that is expressed by the use of code and smart contracts.
This is why the Ethereum blockchain can support basically any script, program, or business.
To sum it up, the technological infrastructure provided by Ethereum was key to the evolution of smart contracts, decentralized apps (dApps), tokenization, DeFi, and many other innovations.
Backed by Corporate Giants
Bitcoin is clearly considered an antagonist or a threat to legacy finance by many stakeholders representing governments and the banking ecosystem. Ethereum doesn’t have a bad reputation in the existing financial order.
In fact, many financial service providers keen on embracing blockchain technology naturally tend to look at the Ethereum network and its offshoots favorably. For example, Bank of America (BoA) was one of the first major global banks to deploy an Ethereum-powered application to help customers secure their transactions.
All these factors collectively point toward the likelihood that Ethereum is here to stay for the long-haul, which in turn, adds to its charm as an investment choice.
3 Factors Likely to Drive the ETH Price in 2021
● The rise of DeFi: The DeFi ecosystem is likely to grow exponentially even in 2021, which is indeed bullish news for ETH. After all, Ethereum hosts most of the major DeFi assets as ERC tokens and in that sense, it has become almost synonymous with DeFi.
● ETH 2.0: Many industry insiders are convinced that the introduction of ETH 2.0 will likely lead to a boost to the ETH price in 2021. With ETH 2.0 addressing many of the network’s scalability issues, a surge in the network’s usage and use-cases is expected.
● Bitcoin rally: Historically, Ethereum has remained closely correlated to Bitcoin, which means their prices move more or less in a similar way. If this correlation follows as Bitcoin continues on a post-halving rally, similar to the ones from 2012 and 2016, the end result will be very enticing for the ETH community.
3 Common Ways to Buy Ethereum
There are various ways you can buy Ethereum using different payment methods. In the end, it all depends on your preference.
Using Crypto Exchanges
As with Bitcoin, cryptocurrency exchanges such as Xcoins are the most preferred platforms to buy and sell ETH too. There are hundreds of crypto exchanges operating all around the world today, each coming with its own merits and demerits. Some have too few payment options, while others may have loopholes in the form of questionable security and/or high fee structures.
Usually, most buyers prefer exchanges with transparent fees, robust security, faster transactions, and of course, multiple payment methods.
P2P Purchase
If you would prefer to buy Ethereum from an individual face to face, you can buy Ethereum online using a p2p network such as LocalEthereum.You can also buy Ethereum using cash from someone in your local Ethereum community. A good way to meet and network with such like-minded individuals is to regularly check the dedicated Ethereum page on Meetup.com or other similar platforms.
Ethereum ATM
You can also use an Ethereum ATM in your neighborhood to buy small amounts of ETH. Because most cryptocurrency ATMs are configured to disburse only small amounts to avoid KYC and other regulations, this is also a good way to buy ETH relatively anonymously. Make sure, though, that you already have an ETH wallet before making your purchase.
One drawback of ETH ATMs is that there are too few of them outside a select few regions in North America, Asia, and Europe. You can use CoinATMRadar to look for an ATM near you that supports ETH purchases.
If you are strictly looking for a place like this where you can buy Ethereum using credit or debit cards, among other payment options, and have your newly purchased coins deposited into your account in as little as 15 minutes, an exchange like Xcoins is probably your best bet.