Ethereum

ETH

EXPLORE ETHEREUM

$2,117.93

$3.72(+0.18%)Today

Market cap

255.67bn

Total volume (24h)

17.28bn

Volume / Market cap

0.0676

Circulating supply

120.69m

Day range (24h)

$2,081.33$2,153.08

All-time low

$0.433

All-time high

$4,946.05

About Ethereum (ETH)

Current ETH Price: $2,117.93 | 19 May 2026 | Market cap: $255,673,234,546.

What is ETH?

Ethereum is a decentralised blockchain network and the world's leading platform for digital smart contracts, conceived in 2013 and launched in 2015. Its native token, ETH (pronounced "Eee-th"), acts like fuel that powers the entire ecosystem.

What is a smart contract?

A smart contract is a digital agreement written in computer code that lives on a blockchain like Ethereum. It automatically does something when certain conditions are met. For example: If you send me 1 ETH, the smart contract instantly sends you a digital artwork (NFT). The code follows its programmed rules automatically, 24/7. No human involvement is needed.

Ethereum's network is a vast, secure, public ledger that records every transaction. Traditional smart contracts follow their original rules, and can't be changed once executed. Upgradable smart contracts can be updated for new features or bug fixes.

What is Ethereum known for?

Ethereum powers the world's largest DeFi economy with <> TVL across 100+ EVM Layer 2 networks (L2s) and thousands of EVM-compatible chains, delivering 100,000+ TPS total capacity. It pioneered smart contracts (2015) and hosts the most active global developer community (60%+ market share).

Real-world Ethereum ecosystem performance:

- Base layer: ~15 TPS, battle-tested security

- L2s: Fast transactions

- Ecosystem: Thousands of decentralised applications, $2T+ all-time volume processed

Recent & planned upgrades: Pectra (live May 2025), Fusaka (live Dec 2025), Glamsterdam (live by May 2026, with ePBS for MEV resistance), Hegota (live by 2026 with Verkle Trees for state growth).

How does DeFi impact the price of ETH?

Decentralised finance apps are one of Ethereum's top use cases today, and allow you to buy, sell, trade, and stake assets like ETH without intermediaries or banks. To start buying, selling, or trading ETH, all you have to do is connect to a leading crypto wallet like MetaMask.

DeFi is a global financial system, and an alternative to TradFi that is accessible to anyone with an internet connection, open 24/7 worldwide.

HOW TO BUY ETHEREUM

Price history

Today (19 May 2026)	$2,117.93	+0.18%
24 hours ago (18 May 2026)	$2,114.22	+0.18%
1 week ago (12 May 2026)	$2,290.53	-7.54%
1 month ago (19 April 2026)	$2,310.42	-8.33%
1 year ago (19 May 2025)	$2,403.22	-11.87%

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Ways to use ETH on MetaMask

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Social recap

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Total posts

126,375

Reddit posts

1,795

X posts

119,896

News articles

2,519

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EXPLORE

You can buy Ethereum (ETH) directly on your MetaMask wallet in just a few taps, without going through a centralised crypto exchange. MetaMask supports local and global payment methods such as credit card, debit card, bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and other regional options, depending on your country or state. Buying ETH in MetaMask helps you avoid extra steps, reduce fees, and instantly receive Ether in your self-custodial crypto wallet, so you stay in control of your assets.
Bridging crypto across chains allows you to move tokens from one network to another. With MetaMask, bridging Ether (ETH) is easy, secure, and cost-effective. Our aggregator finds the most efficient routes to move your digital assets from one chain to another. And with cross-chain swapping, bridging and swapping can take place at the same time in a single transaction. Meaning: instead of bridging one token from chain A and wrapping or unwrapping it on chain B, you can swap one token from chain A to a second token on chain B, all in one move.
Staking ETH is a way of putting your crypto to work and receiving APY whilst securing the Ethereum network at the same time. MetaMask offers you three different ways to stake your Ether (ETH) depending on your preferences and funding:
- Pooled staking: Deposit any amount of ETH to stake via MetaMask, and receive daily yield. Unstake at any time.
- Validator staking: Deposit 32 - 2048 ETH per validator node, and let MetaMask run it for you. Receive yield every 10 days. Unstake at any time.
- Liquid staking: Deposit any amount of ETH to stake via third-party providers. Receive liquidity tokens representing staked value, and daily yield. Unstake at a time that is partner dependent.
With ETH, you can access DeFi platforms for trading and lending, buy and sell NFTs, play web3 games, manage your digital identity, and much more via thousands of apps and platforms. ETH can be used to cover transaction fees, send money to others, add to liquidity pools, stake for yield, or put up as collateral for loans. MetaMask makes it easy by combining buying, trading, swapping, bridging, app connections, and crypto wallet management all in one place.
Ethereum's upgrade after Pectra is the Fulu-Osaka upgrade, aka the Fusaka upgrade.
Fusaka, which went live on 3 December 2025, is an Ethereum update that focused on increasing the EVM's scale—with better speed, more efficient processing, and smoother Layer 2 integrations. It builds on Pectra's changes like allowing up to 2048 ETH staked per validator, easier withdrawals, and simpler account features, whilst adding improvements in data handling, transaction volume, and performance across networks. The goal was to achieve fewer transaction delays, cheaper costs to use popular apps, stronger security, and further growth without losing decentralisation.
Glamsterdam, which is expected to launch by May 2026, will bring in-protocol changes such as enshrined proposer-builder separation (ePBS) to build blocks directly on Ethereum, reducing centralised control and Maximum Extractable Value (MEV). It adds tools like block-level access lists to manage data and keep regular computers able to run nodes, even with increased load from Fusaka updates. This pushes Ethereum towards its Surge, Verge, and Purge goals with higher transaction speeds, greater decentralisation, and readiness for over 100,000 transactions per second on Layer 2 networks.

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ETH Sentiment

ETH updates powered by Brandwatch. Not financial advice. Last updated on 12 May 2026.

Bullish ETH indicators

Wall Street treasuries lock $8B on Ethereum, increasing institutional on-chain demand. Locked assets reduce available circulating ETH supply and may support upward price pressure. (Source)

Circle reports $222M presale at $3B FDV, signaling institutional product demand on Ethereum. USDC supply is $77B, up 28% year-on-year, increasing on-chain liquidity for ETH activity. (Source)

Treasure Global starts an Ethereum treasury with a $176,000 initial buy under a framework allowing up to $100M deployment. At current prices, full deployment would represent roughly 45,700 ETH in potential institutional demand. (Source)

Bearish ETH indicators

Wallets holding 1,000–10,000 ETH have reduced balances, indicating concentrated sell-side activity. Concentrated sales may increase exchange supply and weigh on ETH price. (Source)

Unstaking queue jumped roughly 72,000% following April's record $625M in DeFi exploits, signaling short-term caution among stakers. Large unstake flows may convert illiquid staked ETH into marketable supply. (Source)

ETH is down 3.82% over 7 days, trading at $2,286.64. Short-term momentum is weak, increasing volatility risk for active holders.