ETH Price Update
The price of Ethereum (ETH) today is $1,809.38 USD, which has increased by 63.11 (3.61%) . The total number of ETH coins in circulation stands at 122,373,866 and $366,114,872 USD has been traded for the ETH/USD pair across exchanges .
About Ethereum
The price of Ethereum is quoted in US Dollars (USD) and is updated immediately as each trade occurs. The price chart above is updated in 5 second intervals and data is recorded for the previous 10 minutes. All price updates are made in real-time and so there is no need to refresh the page to view the latest price of ETH.
Currently this live Ethereum price tracker is only quoted in USD. More currency pairs will be added to this platform should it prove popular. Remember that you can request features or new metrics via email or Twitter. Contact details are in the footer of this website.
If you are looking for historical price data with minutely updates, see our Ethereum Price tracker.
Ethereum Price Volatility
For those new to the market, the variation in price over a short period of time can be perplexing and a little worrying. Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies experience a huge fluctuations in price as speculators buy and sell the asset by the billions of dollars. Speculation is fierce as the rate of return for Ethereum investors has far outperformed mainstream stocks, shares and other asset classes. The price of Ethereum has increased from less than $1 in 2016 to well in excess of $1,000 at the start of 2018. It is not uncommon for a “stock” like Ethereum to lose 10 to 20% of its value in a 24 hour period; nor is it uncommon for the opposite to also occur. As can be seen by the historical price of Ethereum, the trend has been dramatically positive. Some contributing factors to this price volatility are:
Nascent technology
Ethereum is a promising new technology that could fundamentally reshape the way humans interact. New technologies bring with them an array of challenges, many of which have accounted for several rounds of panic among investors. As each challenge is overcome, a euphoric bull run typically follows, attracting more investors and more speculation. It is not unheard of for Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies to double in value overnight. Ethereum has so far been able to dominate the technological challenges in front of it; however the ability for Ethereum to scale to billions of users is still doubted by some.
For further information about Ethereum, the technology and how it may change the world for the better, see this guide to “What is Ethereum?“.
Regulatory uncertainty
Many new technologies are quick to grab the attention of regulators. In this case however, Ethereum and other cryptoassets have grown so fast that many regulators have been caught off-guard. In the case of China, a somewhat knee-jerk reaction was made to ban “Initial Coin Offerings” (ICOs) as retail investors ploughed funds into untested and potentially malicious projects. Other regulators have also been hostile to cryptocurrencies, particularly those in developing nations such as India as well as nations undergoing a major economic crises as seen in Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
Unlike technologies of the past, Ethereum and its underlying “blockchain” have the potential to heavily disrupt financial systems. Whilst the disruption would be almost entirely positive (improved transparency, less corruption, faster and cheaper global transactions, cheaper accounting and wealth equality to name just a few) regulators are quick to go on the offensive if their monetary policy is threatened.
This clash between Ethereum and government/central banking has and will continue to be a main source of volatility for the price of Ether.
Exuberance
Irrational exuberance will follow any asset class which is capable of demonstrating consistent growth and seemingly guaranteed returns. Such exuberance has been seen time and again in human history and this time it’s no different. Many high profile news outlets and financial experts have talked of Ethereum as a bubble; such high growth is surely followed by a crash. Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin states that “of course it’s a bubble”, but his outlook on Ethereum remains extremely bullish. Bubbles have typically been associated with value that isn’t there – a sudden collapse of an asset which was propped up by nothing but speculation. Whilst “irrational exuberance” is rife, the fundamental value of this technology is enormous, potentially greater than the current speculation that drives the price to dizzying new heights. Ethereum will continue to experience high growth and major retractions, but once the bubble has burst for the umpteenth time, it will finally become apparent (to everyone) just how much value underlies this technology.
Frequently Asked Questions
For those new to Ethereum or trading in general, some of the above metrics may need some clarification. Below are the answers to several frequently asked questions which should go some way to helping you understand how this website functions.
How is the live price calculated?
The live price shown on this page is calculated through the CryptoCompare.com API. This page connects via WebSocket to enable rapid messaging of price data as each trade happens. The price itself is an “exchange weighted volume average”. This means that the price is averaged across dozens of exchanges and weighted by each exchange’s volume (the amount of trades they handle). Elaboration on this can be found in our more detailed FAQ which is linked in the footer.
What is meant by the “last trade”
The last trade metric provides users with some idea of the volume of Ether (Ξ) being traded on exchanges. This trade could be made at any of the exchanges recorded (full list in the footer FAQ) and the value is displayed on this page.
Why does the live data differ from other data sources?
The data used to calculate the price and volume of ETH/USD will vary between websites. This is due to the different exchanges used to calculate a weighted average. Exchanges based in Korea have typically traded Ethereum at a premium; websites that include these exchanges in their calculation will naturally have a higher price of ETH/USD when compared to those that do not.
