While Bitcoin certainly gets the majority of news coverage and hype, there are thousands of other cryptocurrencies. Now many of them aren't worth your time (or money), Ethereum is one altcoin that certainly is.
In this post I'm going to share with you the two easiest ways to convert your Bitcoin into Ethereum.
Using Ethereum
What makes Ethereum so valuable is that it has uses outside of simply being a currency. In fact Ethereum is a computing platform. It can run entire apps that are completely decentralised. And whats even more exciting is that Ethereum is currently being widely used right now. In fact it's being used so much that it has been suffering from scaling issues (which are getting fixed 🙂 )
Here are some of the things that Ethereum is currently being used for:
- Crypto Games – Have you heard of Cryptokitties? It's a virtual cat trading game, where kittens can be sold for thousands of dollars. The entire app is powered by Ethereum.
- ICO's – While 2018 wasn't a big year for ICOs, I have no doubt that there will be more in the future. Most ICO's were powered by Ethereum.
- Stable Coins – Did you know that the Stable coin USDC is powered by ethereum. USDC is a token where 1 coin = 1 U.S Dollar. It's supported by Coinbase.
- Dapps – Dapps are decentralised apps. More and more are being built which help solve real world problems. As governments like China continue to crack down of personal privacy and freedom, apps like these are essential.
So Ethereum is already widely used. So how do you convert some of your bitcoin into Ethereum?
Converting on Changelly
Changelly is a cryptocurrency conversion tool. You simply send one currency to Changelly and then they'll send back the converted currency to your wallet. Here is how it works:
- Visit Changelly
- Enter the amount of bitcoin you want to convert into Ethereum
- Send that amount of bitcoin to the address provided
- They'll send you back Ethereum to the wallet address you've entered.
What I like about Changelly is you don't need to store any cryptocurrency on their service. You simply use your own Bitcoin Wallet. It is possible to buy Bitcoin on Changelly, however the fees are quite high. I would recommend buying on Coinbase and then converting on Changelly.
As well as Ethereum you can also convert between dozens of other cryptocurrencies.
Converting on Coinbase
Coinbase has just added a new feature that lets you convert cryptocurrencies directly on their site. This means if you already own Bitcoin on Coinbase you can convert it into Ethereum, Litecoin and other supported coins.
There are no fees to convert coins on Coinbase, however there is a spread. This is the difference in price between the bid and ask prices. You could send your coins to an exchange to convert, but you'll probably pay more in fees. So the spread isn't a bad option.
To convert coins on Coinbase, just click on the asset you want to convert from and then you'll see a big blue “convert” button.
