How to buy, sell and trade Aeternity (AE)

Ethereum may currently be the biggest smart contracts platform in the world of crypto, but there are plenty of other projects keen to challenge for the title. Aeternity is one of those challengers.

Launched in 2017, Aeternity aims to improve the scalability of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dapps) by moving contracts off-chain. It also relies on an oracle to provide the real-world data needed for those smart contracts and offers a native currency, Aeon (AE), which is required to access the network and run dapps.

AE is a top 100 cryptocurrency by market cap. If you’re thinking of buying any AE tokens, read on for detailed instructions on what you need to do.

Where to buy and sell Aeternity in the Philippines

You can buy and sell AE on the following crypto exchanges:

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Name	Product	Deposit methods	Fiat Currencies	Cryptocurrencies
Huobi Cryptocurrency Exchange		AdvCash, Cryptocurrency, SWIFT, Wire transfer	GBP, USD, AUD, EUR, INR, BRL, KHR, CAD,CNY, NZD & 15+ more	228 cryptocurrencies	Huobi is a digital currency exchange that allows its users to trade more than 190 cryptocurrency pairs.	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
CoinBene Cryptocurrency Exchange		Cryptocurrency	-	50 cryptocurrencies	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Gate.io Cryptocurrency Exchange		Cryptocurrency	USD, EUR, GBP, HKD, SGD, AUD, CHF, MXN	818 cryptocurrencies	Finder exclusive: New users get $90 worth of Gate.IO points and an airdrop of $5 in GateTokens if trade volume exceeds $100 in their first week. T&Cs apply. A feature-rich exchange with over 700 tokens including derivatives, yield farming and lending products.	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

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A step-by-step guide to buying Aeternity

So you’ve decided you want to buy Aeternity? Here’s what you need to do:

• Step 1. Create an account at an exchange that lists AE

  Compare and review the fees and features of the exchanges that list AE in one or more currency pairs. Once you’ve found a platform that matches your trading needs, you can sign up for an account by providing your email address and creating a secure password.

  Some exchanges will also require additional personal information, such as your name, address and proof of ID, before allowing you to trade. This extra verification is needed to satisfy Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering (KYC/AML) regulations.

  Once your account has been set up, remember to enable 2-factor authentication for an extra layer of security.

• Step 2. Deposit funds into your account

  If you want to buy AE tokens with fiat currency, Binance is well worth a look. You can’t buy tokens using PHP, but you can with USD, EUR or GBP. If you use your credit card, the converted amount in pesos will appear on your statement. To make a deposit, click on the “Deposit” link from your Binance account dashboard and then complete your payment via card payments or bank transfers.

  Other platforms don’t accept fiat currency and only allow crypto-to-crypto exchanges. If this is the case, you’ll need to own or acquire a digital currency listed in a trading pair alongside AE, such as bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH). For instructions on how to obtain either of these currencies, check out our how to buy BTC and how to buy ETH guides.

  You can then deposit this digital currency into your exchange account. For example, Binance users will need to click on “Funds” and select “Deposits”, and then choose the coin or token they want to deposit. You can then copy the wallet address or scan the QR code needed to transfer your funds to the right place.

• Step 3. Buy AE

  The final step is to navigate to the trading page on your chosen exchange, find the currency pair you want to trade and then specify how many AE you want to buy.

  If you’re using Binance, click the “Exchange” link and select either the “Basic” or “Advanced” trading view. Search for the pair you want to trade, such as “AE/BTC”, and select a Limit, Market or Stop-Limit Order. You can then specify the amount of AE you want to buy.

  Whichever platform you’re using, make sure you take the time to review the full cost of your transaction before submitting it.

How to sell Aeternity

To sell your Aeon holdings, the process you need to follow is similar to that outlined in step 3. Of course, you’ll need to make sure that you enter your transaction details in the “Sell” tab rather than the “Buy” section.

It’s also worth mentioning that unlike major currencies like bitcoin, which can be traded to an extensive range of coins and tokens, AE can only be exchanged for a limited number of currencies.

Which wallets can I use to hold Aeternity?

Rather than keeping your tokens on an exchange, which exposes you to a number of security risks, it’s recommended that you move your funds into a cryptocurrency wallet that lets you retain control of your private keys.

Aeternity is an ERC20 token on Ethereum, so there are plenty of good options out there to store Aeon safely. You can create a wallet at wallet.aeternity.com, use MyEtherWallet or purchase a hardware wallet like the Ledger Nano S or TREZOR.

How Aeternity works

Since the launch of Ethereum in 2015, there’s been no shortage of speculation and excitement about the potential uses for smart contract technology. However, the world’s leading smart contracts platform and second-largest cryptocurrency isn’t without its shortcomings – from a lack of scalability to working out an efficient way to integrate real-world information onto the blockchain – and it’s these problems that Aeternity aims to solve.

To improve scalability, Aeternity moves smart contracts off-chain, running them in private state channels. This minimizes the amount of on-chain data and frees up network resources.

Next, it includes a decentralized oracle, the Aeternity Oracle Machine, to integrate the real-world data needed to execute smart contracts. For example, if the execution of a contract relies on the price of a specific share reaching a predetermined figure, an oracle can provide accurate, tamper-proof data about the share’s performance.

To achieve consensus, Aeternity uses a hybrid proof-of-work and proof-of-stake mechanism. Proof-of-work is used by miners to verify blocks, while proof-of-stake is used to allow AE token holders to vote on proposals and changes to the Aeternity network.

Based in Liechtenstein, the Aeternity team raised around USD$5.2 million in an April 2017 pre-sale and USD$24 million in a June 2017 token sale.

What to consider when buying Aeternity

Cryptocurrencies are complicated and speculative assets which are known for their volatility. There’s a high level of risk associated with buying any coin or token, so it’s essential that you understand and assess all the factors that could potentially influence a coin’s value.

There are several other factors worth considering, so do your own research before deciding whether to buy any AE.

Buy AE

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Disclosure: At the time of writing the author holds ADA, IOTA and XLM.