How To Buy Ethereum UK – Buy Ethereum In Under 5 Minutes

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization – so it makes sense that plenty of people in the UK are looking to buy this popular digital asset. You do, however, need to ensure that you buy Ethereum from a trusted brokerage site that offers competitive fees and your preferred payment type.

In this guide, we show you how to buy Ethereum in the UK in a low-cost and secure manner.

#1 Broker to Buy Ethereum – eToro

How To Buy Ethereum – Choose a Broker

The best way to buy Ethereum in the UK is through an online cryptocurrency broker. The best platforms in the space allow you to buy ETH with a debit or credit card at low fees.

Below you find the five best brokers that allow you to invest in Ethereum in the UK.

• eToro – Overall Best Broker to Buy Ethereum UK
• Coinbase – Best Broker to Buy Ethereum for Beginners
• OKEx – Best Low-Cost Broker to Buy Ethereum UK via a Crypto Deposit
• Binance – Best Broker to Buy Ethereum for Asset Diversity
• Coinjar – Best Broker to Buy Ethereum UK for Those on a Budget

We review the above Ethereum brokers further down in this guide!

How to Buy Ethereum in the UK – A Quick Guide For 2021

If you simply want to learn how to buy Ethereum right now without reading our guide in full – follow the four-step walkthrough below!

• Step 1: Open an Account with eToro – Open an account with eToro – which is a low-cost crypto broker regulated by the FCA.
• Step 2: Upload Your ID – Upload a copy of your passport or driver’s license and proof of address – such as a utility bill or bank statement.
• Step 3: Deposit Funds – Deposit funds into your eToro account with a debit/credit card, bank transfer, or e-wallet.
• Step 4: Buy Ethereum – Enter ‘Ethereum’ into the search box, click ‘Trade’ and enter the amount you wish to invest (in USD).

As soon as you click on the ‘Open Trade’ button – your Ethereum purchase is complete! At this stage, there is nothing more for you to do – as you can leave your ETH tokens within your eToro portfolio until you decide to cash out.

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No EU investor protection. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. 

Where to Buy Ethereum in the UK

If you want to buy Ethereum in the UK in a safe and low-cost manner – you’ll need to open an account with a quality broker. There are hundreds of platforms that allow you to buy, sell, and trade Ethereum – so choose wisely. Key factors to focus on should include regulation, fees, payments, customer support, and minimum deposits.

Below you will find a selection of the very best platforms that allow you to buy Ethereum in the UK.

1. eToro – Overall Best Broker to Buy Ethereum UK

eToro is a clear winner for us – with the online broker now home to over 20 million investors. The platform is simple to use – so if this is your first time buying cryptocurrency online – you are in good hands. The first step is to register an account and make a deposit – which needs to be at least $200 – or about £140.

You can facilitate your eToro deposit instantly with a debit or credit card. E-wallets are also supported – which is inclusive of Paypal, Skrill, and Neteller. If you wish to fund your account via a bank transfer – this is also an option. Either way, once you have made a deposit, you can buy Ethereum at a minimum stake of just $25 – or about £18.

This is ideal, as you can buy Ethereum in the UK without needing to risk a large amount of capital. Plus, as eToro offers a wide selection of other digital currencies – you can diversify with ease. This includes the likes of Bitcoin, Ethereum Classic, Ripple, Uniswap, Dogecoin, Litecoin, and more. When it comes to pricing, you will pay just 0.5% to fund your account. There are no commissions at eToro – so you will simply pay the ‘spread’ when buying Ethereum.

If you are looking to invest in the wider cryptocurrency arena but you have little experience of how things work – you might consider using the eToro copy trading feature. This allows you to select a successful eToro investor and then copy their trades. For example, if you invest $500 into the trader and they allocate 10% of their capital into a Litecoin buy order – you will automatically stake $50 on the position.

There are also social trading tools that allow you to communicate with other eToro investors in a public setting. On top of digital currencies, eToro also offers traditional asset classes. For example, you can buy thousands of commission-free shares and ETFs from 17 UK and international stock exchanges. The platform also offers CFD trading facilities on indices, forex, precious metals, and energies.

Perhaps the most important thing about choosing eToro to buy Ethereum in the UK is that the broker is heavily regulated. In fact, the platform is authorized and licensed by three financial bodies – the UK’s FCA, CySEC in Cyprus, and ASIC in Australia. This ensures that you can invest in Ethereum and other assets without needing to worry about client safety. Finally, eToro also offers a fully-fledged trading app on iOS and Android – which allows you to buy and sell assets on the move.

Pros

Cons

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No EU investor protection. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. 

2. Coinbase – Best Broker to Buy Ethereum for Beginners

The next cryptocurrency broker to consider in your search to buy Ethereum in the UK is Coinbase. You might have heard of this top-rated platform – not least because it now serves more than 35 million clients from all over the world. In terms of its main USP – Coinbase is particularly attractive to beginners.

That is to say – as soon as you land on the Coinbase homepage you will notice that the platform is super user-friendly. As such, if this is your first time buying cryptocurrencies like Ethereum – Coinbase is well considering. In order to get the ball rolling, you’ll need to open an account and upload a copy of your government-issued ID. Next, you can use the Instant Buy feature – which allows you to buy Ethereum in the UK directly with your debit card.

Although this offers a convenient and fast way to invest in Ethereum, we should note that the Instant Buy feature attracts a commission of 3.99%. As such, were you to buy £750 worth of Ethereum, you would pay £29.92 in fees. With this in mind, it might be better to deposit funds via a UK bank transfer – which is free. If you do, then you will pay a smaller trading commission of 1.49% when you complete your Ethereum purchase.

Much like eToro, Coinbase offers a good selection of other cryptocurrencies – which you can buy with ease. This includes large-cap digital assets like Bitcoin, Ripple, and Dogecoin – as well as smaller projects that are still up-and-coming. There aren’t, however, any stocks, ETFs, or other traditional assets offered by Coinbase. Nevertheless, the platform does offer other stand-out features – such as a cryptocurrency debit card issued by Visa and a leading digital asset wallet.

The latter can be downloaded free of charge on both Android and iOS devices. Not only does the Coinbase wallet allow you to safely store your digital tokens – but you can also buy and sell cryptocurrencies from the palm of your hand. If you prefer to keep your cryptocurrencies in your online account – Coinbase offers several security controls to ensure your funds are safe. This is inclusive of two-factor authentication, device and IP whitelisting, and cold storage.

Pros

Cons

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No EU investor protection. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. 

3. OKEx – Best Low-Cost Broker to Buy Ethereum UK via a Crypto Deposit

OKEx is a super-popular cryptocurrency exchange and broker that now serves over 20 million clients. The platform is often used by those wishing to trade digital currencies, albeit, you can also buy Ethereum with ease. In fact, if you already own a cryptocurrency – you can easily deposit this into OKEx and instantly exchange it into Ethereum.

If this is an option for you – then you won’t need to provide OKEx with any personal information or contact details. This also means that you don’t need to go through the cumbersome KYC process. Ultimately, this allows you to buy Ethereum in the UK in an anonymous manner – which isn’t an option when using fiat currency. In terms of fees, OKEx charges a variable commission of 0.10% per slide.

This is really competitive, not least because you will pay just 10p for every £100 traded. As the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency – OKEx offers dozens of Ethereum-based pairs that you can trade with ease. This includes everything from ETH/BTC and ETH/USDT to ETH/DAI and ETH/USDC. On top of Ethereum, OKEx supports hundreds of other cryptocurrency markets – so you won’t be short of options.

OKEx also accepts fiat currency deposits – should you wish to buy Ethereum in the UK in a more convenient way. Although this will require you to provide personal information and upload KYC documents – this should take you less than 10 minutes from start to finish. Then, you will be able to instantly purchase Ethereum with a debit/credit card, or deposit funds with a bank account transfer.

We also like OKEx for its learning material – which comes packed with useful guides and explainers that aim to make you a better cryptocurrency investor. Furthermore, OKEx even offers the chance to earn daily interest on your cryptocurrency holdings via its mining pool feature. All you need to do is deposit a supper crypto-asset into the pool and you will earn a proportion of any mining rewards that are generated.

Pros

Cons

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No EU investor protection. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. 

4. Binance – Best Broker to Buy Ethereum for Asset Diversity

Binance is another top-rated cryptocurrency exchange and broker that allows you to buy Ethereum in the UK in a simple and low-cost way. If you want to buy ETH instantly with a debit or credit card – the platform charges a fee of 1.8%. For example, if you buy £750 worth of Ethereum – you’ll pay a fee of £13.50 – which is much cheaper than Coinbase.

You will, however, first need to upload a copy of your passport or driver’s license – which is industry practice when buying digital currencies with fiat money. You can also transfer funds from your UK bank account – which might be the better option. Not only will this allow you to alleviate the 1.8% debit/credit card fee – but the transfer goes through Faster Payments.

As such, you should see the money arrive in your Binance account in less than a couple of minutes. Then, you will simply need to pay the 0.10 commission to use your GBP balance to buy Ethereum. Binance also supports cryptocurrency deposits. Much like OKEx, this option allows you to buy Ethereum in the UK without needing to open an account or upload any KYC documents. This anonymous offering is, however, capped to a maximum of 2 BTC per day in transactions.

If you do choose Binance to invest in Ethereum, you will find hundreds of other digital currencies on the platform. This covers major crypto assets but also heaps of smaller ERC-20 tokens. You might also find the Binance savings account of interest – which allows you to earn interest on your ideal cryptocurrency holdings. This is paid daily, and if opting for a flexible account, you can withdraw your digital assets at any given time.

Pros

Cons

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No EU investor protection. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. 

5. Coinjar – Best Broker to Buy Ethereum UK for Those on a Budget

While many brokers in the UK require a large deposit to buy Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies – Coinjar does things differently. That is to say, Coinjar allows you to buy Ethereum in the UK without breaking the bank. This is because the popular online platform allows you to purchase cryptocurrencies at a minimum deposit of just £5.

As a result, you can dabble with cryptocurrencies without needing to risk more than you can afford to lose – which is crucial. What we also like about Coinjar is that it supports fee-free Faster Payment transactions. Not only is this the case when making a deposit, but for withdrawals, too. Once the funds arrive in your Coinjar account – which is usually near-instant, you will then pay a commission of 1% to buy Ethereum.

You can also buy Ethereum instantly with a UK debit/credit card. Although this is an instant purchase, you will pay a higher fee at 2% of the transaction amount. Coinjar is also a great option if you have little to no experience in buying and selling digital assets. Both the main online platform and its mobile app – which is compatible with both iOS and Android, are really simple to use. This means that the process of registering, uploading your ID, and buying Ethereum can be completed with ease.

Other key features at Coinjar include a digital asset exchange – which allows you to buy and sell a range of fiat-to-crypto and crypto-cross pairs. When it comes to the safety of your funds, Coinjar has been active in the cryptocurrency brokerage arena since 2013. Based in Australia, the platform is registered with the Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre. Crucially, Coinjar keeps at least 90% of client digital funds in cold storage – meaning the wallet is kept offline at all times.

Pros

Cons

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No EU investor protection. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. 

How to Buy Ethereum in the UK – Detailed & Explained in Full

In this section of our guide, we are going to walk you through the process of how to buy Ethereum in the UK. This is a detailed walkthrough – so we leave no stone uncovered.

Step 1: Open a Crypto Broker Account

As noted in our crypto brokers reviews – eToro is by far the best platform to buy Ethereum in the UK. As such, the first step is to visit the eToro and register an account.

This will require you to enter some personal information – such as your name, address, and national insurance number. You will also need to enter and confirm your email address and mobile number.

Step 2: Verify Your Identity

We mentioned earlier that eToro is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority – so you and your fellow investors are protected at all times.

A result of this is that eToro will need you to verify your account before you can make a withdrawal – or deposit more than $2,250 (about £1,600).

This should only take you a couple of minutes, as you simply need to upload a copy of your driver’s license or passport. You also need to supply proof of address – which can be a recently issued utility bill or bank statement.

Step 3: Add Funds to Your Account

The next part of the process is to add some money to your eToro account. The best way to do this is to use a debit/credit card, Paypal, or Skrill. The reason for this is that eToro will process the transaction instantly. In terms of fees, you will pay just 0.5% at eToro – which is much cheaper than the 3.99% charged by Coinbase.

Step 4: Search for Ethereum

Now that you have a fully-funded account, you can enter ‘Ethereum’ into the search box at the top of the page.

Make sure you click on the result at the top of the suggested list of markets – like in the image above. On the next page, click on the ‘Trade’ button.

Step 5: Buy Ethereum

You should now see an order box appear on the screen like in the image below. This is where you need to tell eToro how much you wish to invest in Ethereum. The brokers operate in US dollars – so enter your desired stake in USD. The minimum amount of Ethereum that you can buy is $25.

Finally, click on the ‘Open Trade’ button at the bottom of the order box. In doing so, eToro will execute your Ethereum investment instantly and the tokens will appear in your portfolio without delay!

Buy Ethereum – Best Place to Buy Ethereum in the UK

When learning how to buy Ethereum in the UK, you also need to think about the best place to make your purchase. Not only should your decision focus on safety and regulation – but supported payment methods and fees.

To point you in the right direction – below we discuss the best place to buy Ethereum in the UK right now.

Online Cryptocurrency Broker

The best place to buy Ethereum in the UK is through a regulated online broker. These operate much the same as a traditional stockbroker, insofar that the platform will need to be authorized and regulated by the FCA. eToro sits within this category – as the platform licensed by the FCA and non-crypto assets are covered by the FSCS up to the first £85,000.

• In choosing a regulated online broker, you will have access to seamless fiat currency facilities.
• In other words, you will be able to buy Ethereum in the UK instantly with a debit or credit card.
• Some brokers, such as eToro, also support Paypal.
• When using a regulated online cryptocurrency broker to invest in Ethereum, the provider needs to comply with KYC rules.

This means that you need to have your identity verified before certain account restrictions can be removed – such as being able to make a withdrawal. The good news is that, unlike conventional stockbrokers, new-age platforms like eToro can verify your documents instantly via automated technologies. As such, you can proceed to buy Ethereum in the UK without delay.

Cryptocurrency Exchange

You might be surprised to learn that a lot of people in the UK still think that cryptocurrency exchanges are the best way to buy digital currencies. These are platforms that match buyers and sellers in real-time, so you are trading Ethereum with other market participants – but through the exchange itself.

Although fees are often rock-bottom at cryptocurrency exchanges, the key problem is that the vast majority of providers are unregulated. This means no authorization or license from the FCA. Naturally, this has resulted in many shady exchanges entering the market – meaning your crypto funds are at risk.

This is why you should buy Ethereum in the UK, only if you are confident your chosen provider is regulated and that is takes client protection seriously.

Ethereum ATMs

A new and innovative way to buy Ethereum in the UK is through a dedicated cryptocurrency ATM. These work in a similar nature to traditional ATMs, but in reverse. That is to say, you will be inserting pound notes into the terminal with the view of buying Ethereum.

The process works as follows:

• You locate your nearest Ethereum ATM
• You enter the amount of Ethereum that you want to buy on-screen – e.g. £50
• The cryptocurrency ATM lets you know how much Ethereum you will get for your £50 after fees
• If you are happy with the exchange rate – confirm the purchase
• You then enter $50 into the ATM
• The cryptocurrency ATM will then print a receipt with instructions on how to claim your ETH tokens

Although crypto ATMs might seem like the best place to buy Ethereum in the UK – there are a number of flaws with this purchasing method. Firstly, while the number of terminals is growing, CoinATMRadar notes that there are just 45 such ATMs in the UK – most of which will be found in the capital.

Second, you still need to claim the Ethereum tokens in a private cryptocurrency wallet – which for beginners, can be a daunting task. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Ethereum ATMs are super expensive. In fact, some ATM providers charged as much as 20% in transaction fees. When you consider that eToro charges just 0.5% on deposits – this is huge.

Ways to Buy Ethereum UK

When it comes to payment methods, there are several ways to buy Ethereum in the UK. We discuss the most common deposit types below for your consideration.

Buy Ethereum With Debit Card

Assuming you have access to a debit card issued by either Visa or MasterCard – this payment type is by far the best way to buy Ethereum in the UK.

This is because your purchase will be processed instantly by the respective broker. In order to accept debit card payments, the broker must be licensed to do so. It must also ask you to upload some ID before it is able to process your payment.

All of the five brokers we reviewed earlier allow you to buy Ethereum with a debit card. The cheapest option on the table is eToro – which charges an FX fee of just 0.5%.

Buy Ethereum via Debit Card with 0% Commission Now >

Buy Ethereum With Credit Card

You can also buy Ethereum in the UK with a credit card. This option also allows you to invest in Ethereum instantly – as the payment will be processed on the spot. However, unlike debit card purchases, you might be hit with a cash advance fee.

This isn’t charged by the cryptocurrency broker, but by your credit card issuer. This is because in the same light as ATM withdrawals, brokerage deposits often attract a cash advance fee of 3-5%. As such, check this with your card issuer.

Buy Ethereum via Credit Card with 0% Commission Now >

Buy Ethereum With Bank Account

If you are happy to wait an extra 1-2 days for the funds to arrive, you can also invest in Ethereum in the UK via a bank transfer. This option is good for those of you with a strong focus on cost – as brokers often allow you to deposit funds in this manner on a fee-free basis.

Furthermore more, top-rated brokers like Binance support the UK Faster Payments Network. This means that instead of needing to wait 1-2 days for the funds to be credited – the platform can do this in minutes.

Buy Ethereum via Bank Account with 0% Commission Now >

Buy Ethereum With Paypal

If you currently use Paypal and wish to use the e-wallet to buy Ethereum in the UK – you’re in luck. This is because eToro – which is regulated by the FCA, allows you to deposit and withdraw funds via e-wallets. This includes Paypal, as well as Neteller and Skrill. If you want to buy Ethereum with Paypal at eToro – you’ll pay just 0.5% in fees and the payment is processed instantly.

Buy Ethereum via Paypal with 0% Commission Now >

Buy Ethereum With Bitcoin

You can also buy Ethereum with Bitcoin – and a variety of other digital assets. The best way to do this is to transfer the funds into a third-party cryptocurrency exchange like Binance or OKEx.

Both of these platforms allow you to exchange Bitcoin into Ethereum without needing you to provide any personal information or upload KYC documents. Plus, both platforms charge an entry commission of just 0.1% – so this method of buying Ethereum is also the cheapest.

Buy Ethereum via Bitcoin with 0% Commission Now >

Why Buy Ethereum UK?

Cryptocurrencies carry a lot more risk than traditional assets like blue-chip stocks or bonds – so always tread carefully before parting with your money. As such, when considering how to invest in Ethereum in the UK – make sure you do lots of research.

If you’re still sitting on the fence as to whether or not Ethereum is the right investment for you -below we discuss some of the main reasons why you might decide to buy this popular digital asset.

Ethereum has Solidified Itself as the Second Most Valuable Cryptocurrency 

Cryptocurrencies move up and down the market capitalization rankings all the time. This is just the nature of supply and demand. However, in the case of Ethereum, the digital currency has remained the second most valuable cryptocurrency for many years now. Other than a very brief briefly dethrone by Ripple in early 2018 – this has remained the case since 2017.

In terms of valuation, Ethereum hit a total market capitalization of over $480 billion in May 2021 – making the cryptocurrency more valuable than the vast majority of S&P 500 companies. Trading volumes and liquidity levels are also solid – with more than $27 billion worth of Ethereum changing hands in the past 24 hours alone.

Significant Gains Since 2015 

Ethereum first embraced the cryptocurrency markets with its presence in 2015. Back then, you would have had the opportunity to purchase a single ETH token for just $0.75. Just six years later in November 2021 – Ethereum price hit an all-time high of $4,859.50. This means that from its initial price of $0.75 – Ethereum has increased in value by over 600,000%.

To put these numbers into perspective – let’s suppose that you invested £1,000 into Ethereum back in August 2015. In doing so, come November 2021, your £1,000 investment would have been worth over £6 million. Not bad for an investment timeframe of just under six years.

Although parabolic gains like this will unlikely come to fruition again – at least in the case of Ethereum, there is still the potential to make attractive profits. For example, even if you invested in Ethereum in the 12 months prior to writing this guide, you would have paid just $229 per token. As such, this represents 1-year gains of over 1,700%.

Proof of Stake and Ethereum 2.0  

Perhaps the most exciting development currently being implemented by the Ethereum Foundation is the blockchain’s migration to Proof-of-Stake (PoS). Previously, the blockchain relied on the same consensus mechanism used by Bitcoin – Proof-of-Work (PoW). However, this is a hugely limited technology for several reasons.

Firstly, PoW is restricted in how many transactions it can handle at any given time. In the case of Ethereum and Bitcoin, this averages 16 and 7 transactions per second, respectively. Furthermore, the PoW system consumes a considerable amount of energy.

• In fact, recent estimates argue that Bitcoin and its PoW mechanism uses more energy than the entire nation of Malaysia – which is home to over 31 million people.
• But, with Ethereum finally making the transition over the PoS – the blockchain protocol can operate in a much more efficient manner.

This means cutting energy usage by an estimated 99%. This also means increasing its scalability from just 16 transactions per second to a potential of 100,000. This will also result in cheaper transaction costs. As such, once the full transition is complete, this will make Ethereum suitable as a blockchain network that can facilitate fast and efficient transactions on a global scale.

The Capabilities of Ethereum are Practicably Limitless  

Although Bitcoin is the default digital asset of choice in terms of market value and global awareness, Ethereum is capable of doing a lot more. This is because the Ethereum blockchain is able to facilitate smart contract technology. In its most basic form, smart contracts allow two or more parties to transact without there needing to be any trust involved.

This is because smart contracts operate in an autonomous manner – with transactions only being processed once certain pre-defined conditions are triggered.

• As a simplistic example, let’s suppose that an agreement between you and your travel insurance provider is facilitated via a smart contract.
• The agreement states that you will receive a payment in the event that your flight is delayed by more than three hours.
• If this does happen, there is no requirement for you to call your insurance provider or fill out complicated forms.
• Instead, the smart contract will obtain consensus that the flight was delayed by more than three hours by analyzing millions of third-party sources in real-time.
• When consensus is reached, the smart contract will release your insurance payment.

Although this is a basic example, the smart contract phenomenon is applicable to virtually every industry and sector imaginable. This includes everything from banking, insurance, payments, brokerage services, rental agreements, and employment.

Low-Cost Entry and Fractional Ownership  

We mentioned earlier that Ethereum recently hit an all-time high of $4,859.50 – which at current exchange rates, amounts to approximately £3,622. It goes without saying that if you are interested in buying Ethereum in the UK – you likely don’t want to fork out this much money on such a speculative and volatile asset class.

• Fortunately, many platforms in this space allow you to buy Ethereum in the UK with a small amount of money.
• For example, the minimum Ethereum investment per trade at FCA-broker eToro is just $25 – or about £18.
• Coinjar offers an even lower barrier of entry – with a minimum deposit of just £5.

The reason that this is possible is that Ethereum – like all digital currencies, can be fractionized into smaller units. In the case of Ethereum, the crypto asset can be split down into 18 units after the decimal point. In theory, this means that you can invest a fraction of a penny into the cryptocurrency.

The Cost of Buying Ethereum

You will need to pay fees when you buy Ethereum in the UK. This is no different from purchasing stocks or mutual funds. The main two fees are that you need to assess before opening an account with your chosen broker or exchange are as follows:

Deposit Fees

Deposit fees will depend on the broker in question and what payment type you opt for. For example, Coinbase charges 3.99% on debit card payments, but UK bank transfers are free. This is also the case with Binance, albeit, the exchange charges a more favorable debit/credit card fee of 1,8%.

In the case of eToro, all deposit methods are charged at 0.5%. This not only includes debit/credit cards and bank account transfers – but e-wallets like Skrill and Paypal.

Trading Fees

If you are not using an Instant Buy feature – and you instead deposit funds into your brokerage account, you will likely need to pay a commission in order to invest in Ethereum.

For example, Coinbase charges a commission of 1.49%, while at both OKEx and Binance -this will cost you just 0.10%. At eToro, the broker only charges the spread – which is the gap between the bid and ask price.

Risks of Buying Ethereum in the UK

As we mentioned earlier, cryptocurrencies are highly speculative financial instruments. Therefore, before you buy Ethereum in the UK – make sure you consider the following risks.

Volatility

Although large-cap projects like Ethereum are a lot less volatile than digital assets with a small valuation – this is still a major risk to consider. After all, Ethereum was priced at $4,168 in May 2021 and just one month later – hit lows of $1,733. This means that in just one month of trading, the value of Ethereum dropped by over 58%. It has since returned and beat that high in hitting $4,859.50 November 10th, 2021 as it fights towards the $5,000 resistance level.

Regulation

Nobody truly knows what the future holds when it comes to regulation in the wider cryptocurrency market. Laws are still broad in the UK, with proposed crypto-specific regulations yet to be enacted. With that said, the FCA has stepped in several times – with the regulator recently banning UK retail investors from access cryptocurrency derivatives -such as CFDs.

Ethereum has Competition

Ethereum isn’t the only blockchain framework that has the capacity to facilitate smart contract technology. On the contrary, the platform has plenty of competition. Dubbed ‘Ethereum Killers’ in the cryptocurrency community, this includes the likes of Polkadot, Cardano, and NEO.

Selling Ethereum: A Quick Overview

When you buy Ethereum in the UK – the long-term strategy is to sell your digital tokens at some point in the future for a higher price. The process involved is usually straightforward – but this will depend on how you made the purchase and where the tokens are being stored.

For example:

• If you bought Ethereum from FCA-regulated broker eToro and kept the tokens in your portfolio – you can cash out instantly by clicking on the ‘Sell’ button.
• The funds can then be withdrawn back to your bank account, e-wallet, or debit/credit card.

If, however, you bought Ethereum from an exchange and withdrew the tokens to a private wallet, the process requires an extra step. This is because you need to first deposit Ethereum back into the exchange and then sell it back to fiat money.

How to Buy Ethereum UK – Conclusion

By reading this guide all of the way through – you are now armed with everything you need to know about how to buy Ethereum in the UK. We have discussed everything from choosing an Ethereum broker, the various payment methods supported, and both the risks and benefits of investing in this digital asset.

If you’re to buy Ethereum in the UK right now – consider eToro. The broker – which is regulated by the FCA and used by over 20 million people, allows you to invest in Ethereum with a debit/credit card, e-wallet, or bank account transfer. The platform is also one of the most cost-effective, not least because it will only charge you the spread.

FAQ