Ethereum (ETH/USD) overview
Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and the dominant smart-contract platform — most decentralised finance (DeFi), NFTs, stablecoins (USDC, USDT), and Layer-2 networks (Arbitrum, Optimism, Base) run on top of it.
Unlike Bitcoin (a pure store-of-value bet), Ethereum is closer to a bet on programmable money infrastructure. Its price reflects both speculative demand and the economic activity happening on-chain.
What moves ETH
- Macro liquidity — same broad drivers as BTC, often correlated
- DeFi / stablecoin growth — Ethereum captures fees from network activity
- Layer-2 adoption — Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, zkSync reduce L1 fees but pay back to ETH
- Spot ETF approval / inflows — US spot ETH ETFs launched July 2024
- Staking yield — currently ~3-4% APY native staking, competes with Treasury yields
ETH vs. BTC
| BTC | ETH | |
|---|---|---|
| Narrative | Digital gold, store of value | Programmable money platform |
| Supply | Capped at 21M | No hard cap, but deflationary post-merge |
| Yield | 0% | 3-4% via staking |
| Volatility | Lower | Higher (1.3-1.5x BTC’s daily range) |
| ETF flows (2024+) | Strong | Modest |
Where to trade ETH
CFDs via Pepperstone, Capital.com, FxPro. Spot via Binance, Coinbase, Kraken (subject to MiCA-licensed availability in your jurisdiction).
