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Ethereum was created in 2014 and since then has grown to be the second most traded cryptocurrency in the world after Bitcoin. It was publicly announced in January 2014 by Vitalik Buterinn and team with the goal of building decentralized applications and was the first blockchain to offer robust Smart Contract capabilities.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is an open-source, public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform that produced the cryptocurrency token Ether. Ether is a cryptocurrency whose blockchain is generated by the Ethereum platform.
Ether began trading in July 2015 and is the second most valuable digital currency after Bitcoin. In 2016, Ethereum forked into two separate blockchains – Ethereum Classic (“ETC”) and Ethereum (“ETH”). Both have active markets, but this article will focus on trading of Ethereum (ETH).
To better understand what it is, Ethereum is an open source network, much more than just digital currency.
How to trade Ethereum in Nigeria.
As with other cryptocurrencies, in order to buy and sell Ethereum’s Ether (ETH) cryptocurrency in Nigeria, you must go through a cryptocurrency exchange, online broker or local broker. Once you decide to buy and sell ETH, you must first obtain a unique crypto wallet to engage in ETH transactions and to store your cryptocurrency.
Your crypto wallet address has a lot in common with an email address, with the exception that you can pay for goods and services and receive payments and gifts with your wallet address. Once downloaded, your crypto wallet can be accessed through your desktop, laptop, tablet or smart mobile device.
Like with Bitcoin, buying Ethereum’s Ether or Ethereum Classic (ETC) cryptocurrencies in Nigeria seems relatively easy, but the broker or exchange you select matters the most.
Buying Ethereum in 3 simple steps.
No matter what exchange you use for purchasing your Ether you’ll usually need to go through the following steps.
Step 1 – Get an Ethereum Wallet.
Before starting the buying process you will need to get an Ethereum wallet to hold your Ether. There are many types of Ethereum wallets. Hardware wallets are the most secure way of storing Ether. If you’re just starting out with Ethereum, don’t have a lot of Ether to store or don’t have the money to buy a hardware wallet you can use free software wallets.
Step 2 – Buy Ethereum from an exchange.
The easiest way to buy Ethereum (i.e. Ether) would be through one of the popular Ethereum exchanges. It’s important to make a distinction between an actual Ethereum exchange that will sell you Ether and platforms like Nairabarter that only let you speculate on the price.
Step 3 – Send the Ether to your wallet.
Once you bought Ether remember to make sure the coins are sitting in your own personal wallet. If you leave your coins on the exchange and the exchange gets hacked or becomes insolvent you may end up losing your coins. For this step, you’ll need to send your coins to your Ethereum address (think of it as the email address for Ethereum).
