wETH or Wrapped Ethereum is the tokenized version of Ether, pegged to the value of the original coin. wETH is the compatible version of Ether with ERC-20 standards allowing you to trade ETH for other ERC-20 tokens without recurring to third parties.
wETH's market cap currently sits at 0 USD, holding up for a market cap rank at #2824. Check the wETH current price, fully diluted market cap, total supply, max supply, circulating supply, 24-hour trading volume, wETH price history, etc., along with in-depth information on several of the biggest and fastest-growing cryptocurrencies on CoinStats, one of the best crypto platforms around.
CoinStats is a cryptocurrency research and portfolio tracker app that provides investment advice and valuable information on cryptocurrencies, including the live wETH price today, to help investors make better decisions.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about the wETH token and its advantages.
What Is wETH Coin
wETH or Wrapped Ether is the wrapped version of Ether hosted in the ETH blockchain and has the same price as its underlying asset (ETH).
Before we go any further, let’s briefly explain the concept of wrapped coins to you. In the Cryptoverse, a wrapped coin is a prototype token pegged to the original coin's value that can be unwrapped at any point. Almost every major blockchain has a wrapped version of its native cryptocurrency like Wrapped Bitcoin. A smart contract reproduces the price of an ETH in real-time for the Wrapped Ether. So you can always trade Wrapped ETH with Ether at a 1:1 ratio. Similarly, all other wrapped coins such as WBTC, etc., can be redeemed for the original asset at any time.
The reason behind the creation of wrapped coins is interoperability. They were invented to promote interoperability between different networks, blockchains, and tokens in the crypto space. Wrapped Ether ( wETH ) is simply the tradeable version of Ether, the native coin of the Ethereum blockchain. Ether cannot be traded directly with Ethereum based tokens because Ether was created long before the ERC-20 standard was developed. Wrapped Ether was designed to solve this problem by enabling Ether to be exchanged with other Ethereum based tokens and comply with the ERC 20 standard. The ERC 20 standard governs how tokens are transferred and keeps a record of these transactions within the Ethereum Network.
To sum up, a wETH coin is simply a tradeable version of ETH, designed to increase interoperability between blockchains and make Ether usable in decentralized applications (DApps).
wETH Founders
Wrapped Ether was first developed and implemented by a group of Ethereum projects led by Ox Labs in 2017. The first proposed canonical wETH contract was launched in November 2017. wETH is a tradeable version of ETH developed to promote interoperability between various tokens and blockchains.
How Does wETH Coin Work
The process of wrapping Ether is pretty straightforward and is carried out by a custodian - merchants, multi-signature wallets, or the wETH smart contract. To wrap Ethereum, you simply need to send your Ether to a custodian who will hold it as collateral. Then, a wrapped version of your coin is minted, and you get Wrapped Ethereum in return. For example, you could use Uniswap, an Ethereum based decentralized exchange for wrapping Ether. The original Ether is converted to Wrapped Ethereum, which is ERC 20 compatible.
How To Buy wETHr, also known as burning, is also easy so that you can convert wwETH back into ETH at any time. Both wrapping and unwrapping follow a 1:1 ratio.
How To Buy WETH
To buy wETH, you need three major components:
1. Ether coin
2. A Wallet, i.e., Metamask
3. A Decentralised Exchange built on Ethereum, i.e., Uniswap.
First, you need some ETH coins in your wallet; then, you need to connect your wallet to an Ethereum based DEX like Uniswap and easily swap your ETH for wETH.
For more detailed information, check out our article on how to buy WETH.
It's important to note that the gas fees of Ethereum based transactions are paid in ETH; therefore, you need additional ETH.
