From Scratch

What Are Ethereum and Ether (ETH)

2026-03-21 · 3 min read
An introduction to the Ethereum network and its native token ETH -- their concepts, uses, and investment value.

Ethereum is an open-source blockchain platform, and Ether (ETH) is its native token, second only to Bitcoin by market cap. If you want to buy ETH, you can register on Binance to start trading, or download the Binance APP to operate on your phone.

How Ethereum Differs from Bitcoin

Bitcoin is primarily a digital currency, while Ethereum is a smart contract platform. You can build various decentralized applications (DApps) on Ethereum, such as DeFi lending protocols, NFT marketplaces, and more.

What ETH Is Used For

  • Gas fees: Any operation on Ethereum requires ETH as the transaction fee
  • DeFi participation: Various decentralized finance protocols are built on Ethereum
  • Staking rewards: Staking ETH can earn annualized returns
  • Store of value: Many investors hold ETH as a long-term asset

Ethereum's Development Prospects

Ethereum has completed its upgrade from PoW to PoS, dramatically reducing energy consumption. Future upgrades including sharding are planned to increase network throughput and reduce transaction fees.

How to Buy ETH

Search for the ETH/USDT trading pair on Binance and buy with USDT. You can also use Binance's Convert feature to swap other coins for ETH with a single tap -- very convenient.

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