Ethereum

ETH

$2,324.18

-$26.03(-1.12%)Today

Market cap

280.34B

Total volume (24h)

24.80B

Volume / Market cap

0.0885

Circulating supply

120.69M

Day range (24h)

$2,299.90$2,368.40

All-time low

$0.433

All-time high

$4,946.05

About Ethereum (ETH)

Current ETH Price: $2,324.18 | March 18, 2026  | Market cap: $280,341,642,019.00.

What is ETH?

Ethereum is a decentralized 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 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 decentralized 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?

Decentralized 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 (March 18, 2026)	$2,324.18	-1.12%
24 hours ago (March 17, 2026)	$2,350.50	-1.12%
1 week ago (March 11, 2026)	$2,036.15	+14.15%
1 month ago (February 16, 2026)	$1,965.16	+18.27%
1 year ago (March 18, 2025)	$1,933.28	+20.22%

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ETH market moves

AI-powered updates on ETH. Not financial advice.

24h change: -1.08%. From $2,084.64 to $2,062.21.

On March 11, 2026, reports showed Ethereum's supply growing at ~0.23% annually despite EIP-1559 fee burns and reduced issuance following the Merge, as Layer 2 migration has lowered mainnet gas consumption. Over 30 million ETH remain staked, with approximately 72,000 ETH in net new staking activity reported this period.
On March 11, 2026, on-chain data showed wallet 0xfDe…9cB7C withdrew 4,629 ETH (~$9.36M) from Binance. Large exchange outflows are often monitored as a sentiment indicator, though individual transactions do not necessarily signal broader market direction.

March 11, 2026

24h change: -3.11%. From $2,148.36 to $2,081.56.

Ethereum's price rose 10% on March 5, 2026, recording a double-digit daily gain amid a broad crypto sector rally, according to market reports.
ynRWAx's ERC-4626 token, reported on March 5, 2026, accounts for roughly one-third of lending activity on Ethereum, using looping strategies to capture spreads between real-world yield and DeFi borrow rates.

March 5, 2026

24h change: +9.44%. From $1,965.10 to $2,150.67.

An Ethereum address identified as a Coinbase deposit address reactivated on March 4, 2026, eyeing a $3.05M profit and a 1,527.53x return after previously selling 5,125 ETH at $1,881.20 per ETH.
Ethereum's validator queue reached 3.4 million ETH on March 4, 2026, creating an estimated 60-day wait time, marking one of the longest staking queues since Ethereum's transition to Proof of Stake (PoS).

March 4, 2026

24h change: -3.02%. From $2,032.03 to $1,970.76.

Ether futures average daily volume reached 24,000 contracts in February 2026, a 65% year-over-year increase, according to CME Group's report published on March 3, 2026.
Ethereum's price rose above $1,920 on March 3, 2026, following a fresh increase from $1,950, consolidating near resistance levels around $2,050, according to TradingView analysis.

March 3, 2026

24h change: +3.17%. From $1,969.22 to $2,031.56.

An article published on March 2, 2026 described how flash loans can borrow up to $500 million within Ethereum's ~12‑second block time, enabling borrow-execute-repay actions within a single block.
Vitalik Buterin proposed on March 2, 2026 that Ethereum adopt a binary state tree and a RISC‑V‑based execution layer to replace the EVM.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced on March 2, 2026 that its treasury held 4.474 million ETH, with total crypto and cash holdings of $9.9 billion reported.

March 2, 2026

Social recap

Data powered by Brandwatch.

Total posts

158,040

Reddit posts

1,551

X posts

148,820

News articles

4,129

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You can buy Ethereum (ETH) directly on your MetaMask wallet in just a few taps, without going through a centralized 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 network B, you can swap one token from network A to a second token on network B, all in one move.
Staking ETH is a way of putting your crypto to work and receiving APY while 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.
The Pectra upgrade, which went live on May 7 2025, is an Ethereum update that made the network faster, more user-friendly, and expanded staking capabilities. In other words, Pectra improved how Ethereum validators handle ETH, sped up transactions, and set the network up for future growth. Pectra is a key step in Ethereum's long-term plan to stay secure, efficient, and open to users and developers globally. Explore the Pectra upgrade in depth .
Ethereum’s upgrade after Pectra is the Fulu-Osaka upgrade, aka the Fusaka upgrade.
Fusaka, which went live on December 3 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, while 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 decentralization.
Glamsterdam, which is expected to launch by May 2026, and will bring in-protocol changes like enshrined proposer-builder separation (ePBS) to build blocks directly on Ethereum, cutting down on centralized 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 more load from Fusaka updates. This pushes Ethereum toward its Surge, Verge, and Purge goals with higher transaction speeds, more decentralization, and readiness for over 100,000 transactions per second on Layer 2 networks.

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ETH Sentiment

AI ETH updates powered by Brandwatch. Not financial advice. Last updated on March 11, 2026.

Bullish ETH indicators

ETH is participating in Bitcoin-led rallies, signaling cross-market demand. Bitcoin +2.1%, ETH +2.3% to $2,052.07 in recent coverage. (Source)

High trading liquidity supports execution and narrower spreads for ETH traders. 24h volume $20.16B equals about 8.1% of market cap $248.10B.

Bearish ETH indicators

ETH fell 4.89% to $1,978.74 in a broad risk-off move triggered by surging oil prices. Macro-driven selloffs have historically increased short-term volatility across crypto markets. (Source)

Strong dollar demand has pressured crypto, and coverage notes ether declines amid USD gains. ETH is down 0.91% 24h and down 1.61% 7d. (Source)

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