Explained
What Is a Crypto Bridge, and Why Do They Get Hacked?
In plain English Bridges hold large amounts of assets in one place, which has made them a repeated target for very large thefts.
Ethereum Price
ETH · rank #2
$1,908.53
+0.91%
past 24 hours
Prices update about once a minute and come from public market data, proxied by us. They are for information, not a recommendation to buy or sell anything.
Market cap
$233.62B
24h volume
$6.90B
Circulating
122,374,666 ETH
Ethereum price history
Past prices tell you what already happened. They are not a forecast, and crypto has no obligation to repeat itself.
What is Ethereum, simply?
Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency network, and it does considerably more than move money around. Where Bitcoin was built primarily as digital money, Ethereum was built as a platform for running programs — called "smart contracts" — directly on its blockchain. Those programs power everything from lending platforms to digital collectibles to entirely new tokens built on top of Ethereum itself. Ether (ETH) is the currency used to pay for using this network.
A simple way to picture it
If Bitcoin is like digital gold, Ethereum is closer to a global, shared computer that anyone can build software on top of — and ETH is the "fuel" (commonly called gas) needed to run that software. Thousands of independent applications run on Ethereum the way thousands of apps run on a phone's operating system.
Should ETH be your first crypto?
Ethereum is, alongside Bitcoin, one of the two most established cryptocurrencies, with the largest ecosystem of applications built on top of it. That scale doesn't make it a safer investment — it carries its own real volatility and risks, including risks tied to the smart-contract applications running on it, which have been the target of major thefts before through code flaws rather than traditional hacking.
If you do buy ETH, store it safely
Crypto left on an exchange is held by that exchange, not by you. For anything you would mind losing, move it to a wallet whose keys you control, and write the recovery phrase on paper — never in a photo, a notes app or an email. No exchange, wallet, support agent or website, including this one, will ever need your seed phrase. Anyone who asks for it is stealing from you.
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Explained
What Are Gas Fees, and Why Do They Change?
In plain English The same transaction can cost pennies at a quiet moment and a great deal more at a busy one. Checking before you send can save real money.
Explained
What Happens During a Network Upgrade
In plain English If you hold or use Ethereum, this kind of upgrade generally happens in the background — no action is required from ordinary holders, and funds are not affected. …
Explained
What Is Staking?
In plain English If you hold certain cryptocurrencies, you may be able to lock them up to help secure the network they run on, in exchange for rewards paid in more of that same coin. …
Ethereum questions beginners ask
What is a "smart contract"?
Self-executing code that runs on Ethereum's network, automatically carrying out an agreement — like a loan or a trade — without a company in the middle. We cover this properly in our DeFi explainer.
Is Ethereum the same as Bitcoin?
No. They're separate networks with different goals: Bitcoin focuses on being digital money; Ethereum focuses on running programs. Many people hold both.
What is "gas" on Ethereum?
The fee paid, in ETH, to have the network process a transaction or run a piece of code. Our gas estimator shows the current rate.
Ethereum price converter
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Ethereum categories & ecosystems
- Smart contract platforms Networks other applications are built on top of.
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