Ethereum (ETH) is a very popular cryptocurrency and a global, decentralized computational platform that allows the issuance of not just digital coins, but also smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. Like other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum is also traded through popular crypto exchanges such as Coinbase.
Coinbase facilitates the sale, purchase and trade of 8 different cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). It is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum isn’t just a cryptocurrency - it is also a decentralized computing platform allowing developers to create applications and issue encrypted assets such as smart contracts, certificates and of course the currency, Ethereum tokens.
Unlike Bitcoin that only makes you part of a financial network, Ethereum uses smart contracts what are scripts of code deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. These smart contracts have a wide range of applications, such as in supply chains, medical billing, food safety, voting, and of course the financial system. This is because smart contracts allow the transfer and storage of information that is decentralized, i.e. not controlled by a central body, and incorruptible.
Ethereum was created in late 2013. However, just like Bitcoin, it has also undergone a major shift. As a result of a vulnerability, some $50 Million worth of Ether was stolen in 2016. Ethereum was then split into two separate blockchains. The new version became Ethereum (ETH), and had the theft reversed. The original version, known as Ethereum Classic (ETC), continued on with the theft having taken place.
Ethereum on the Coinbase network
Coinbase supports Ethereum (ETH), as well as its original version, Ethereum Classic (ETC). The market price of the original Ether (ETC), along with the market cap and daily traded volume is only a fraction of what it is for ETH.
The current price of each Ethereum (ETH) token on the Coinbase network is $203.31. This represents a decline of over 13% in the last week. The currency wasn’t in much better shape last month either, so there’s only a 0.4% decrease since last month. However, over the last one year, the currency has dropped by more than a whopping 39%.
Unlike Bitcoin, which has a supply limit of 21 Million tokens (17.4 M of which have already been mined), no supply limit has been set on Ethereum. Currently, 103.2 Million ETH has been mined, and there’s no telling where it will be capped.
Although Ethereum has never reached Bitcoin or even Bitcoin Cash in terms of value, with a peak value of only $1.3k (January 2018), it still has more than twice the market cap Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has at around $21 Billion.
As many as $1.5 Billion worth of Ethereum is traded each day.
