A beginner’s guide to the Einsteinium digital currency and how you can buy EMC2 in Australia.
Einsteinium (EMC2) is a cryptocurrency designed to fund scientific, technological and philanthropic projects. The coin circulates using a proof-of-work algorithm and is managed by the Einsteinium Foundation, which operates a crowdfunding platform to support charitable and research projects.
Let’s take a closer look at what Einsteinium does, how the coin works and how you can buy EMC2.
Where to buy, sell and trade EMC2
You can buy EMC2 on the following cryptocurrency exchanges:
A step-by-step guide to buying Einsteinium
If you want to buy EMC2, here’s an example of how to do it:
Step 1. Register for an account with CoinSpot
Local cryptocurrency exchange CoinSpot allows you to buy EMC2 directly with Australian dollars (AUD). Before you can trade, you’ll need to register for a free account by entering your email address and creating a password, and then supply your full name, contact details and a valid form of photo ID to get verified and deposit Australian dollars.
Enabling two-factor authentication on your account to provide increased security is also recommended.
Step 2. Deposit funds into your account
Click the “Deposit AUD” link from the account dashboard and then type in the amount of AUD you want to transfer to your account. You also have the option of depositing cash at a newsagency via Blueshyft.
Note: While in this example you can exchange AUD directly for EMC2, many cryptocurrency exchanges don’t allow you to swap fiat currency for cryptos. If this is the case, you’ll need to buy or own a cryptocurrency that’s available in a pairing with EMC2, such as bitcoin (BTC), and then exchange it for EMC2.
Step 3. Buy EMC2
Click the “Buy/Sell” link on the account dashboard page and search for “EMC2”. Click on “Buy EMC2” and enter the amount of AUD you want to spend. Alternatively, you also have the option of specifying the amount of EMC2 you want to buy.
You can then review the full details of the transaction, including the amount of Einsteinium you’re buying and the total cost, before confirming the purchase.
How to sell EMC2
If you want to sell your EMC2, look for the “Sell EMC2” link and then follow a similar process to that outlined in step 3 above. However, remember that it may not be possible to directly exchange EMC2 for the currency of your choice in just one transaction.
Which wallets can I use to hold EMC2?
For security reasons, storing cryptocurrency on an exchange is not recommended. Instead, it’s much safer to store your EMC2 in a secure wallet.
Einsteinium’s official Excalibur wallet is available for download to Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems from the Einsteinium website. A Coinomi wallet download is also available for anyone who wants to store, send and receive EMC2 on an Android device.
How Einsteinium works
Founded in 2014, Einsteinium was largely unheard of until March and April of 2017, when the non-profit Einsteinium Foundation was founded in Canada. Under the coin’s proof-of-work mining system, the foundation receives 2.5% of every block reward. Of that amount, 80% goes towards funding scientific research.
These funds are distributed at the end of each epoch (the time it takes miners to build 36,000 blocks onto Einsteinium’s public ledger), and the Einsteinium community votes to decide which projects receive funding.
Miners can receive block rewards for 730 epochs, but the size of the reward scales down from 1,024 EMC2 in the first two epochs to just one token in the final epoch. However, to encourage continued mining, Einsteinium has also added what it calls Wormhole Events, which occur within each epoch and see a block reward of 2,973 EMC2 replace the standard reward.
Key things to consider if you’re thinking about buying Einsteinium
Cryptocurrencies are complex and speculative, and you should never buy or hold any crypto before fully understanding how it works and all the risks involved. If you’re thinking of purchasing EMC2, make sure you consider the following factors first:
- Supply. According to CoinMarketCap, at the time of writing (01/02/2018) the circulating supply of Einsteinium was 216,398,698 EMC2.
- Past performance. While past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance, a look back at a chart of the value of EMC2 shows that the coin traded at less than US$0.01 from 2014 until April 2017. More recently, it saw a huge spike in value, rising from US$0.06 in November 2017 to reach US$2.63 on December 18, 2017.
- Dramatic drop. Some of the rise in value of EMC2 throughout December was due to the expectation of a “mind-blowing announcement” the Einsteinium team would make on December 19. Online forums were rife with speculation and rumours that the announcement would contain news of a huge partnership, but it ended up being news of an algorithm change. As a result, the price of EMC2 dropped back to US$0.75 by December 30.
- Corporate partnerships. It’s always important to keep up to date with the announcement of corporate partnerships and arrangements organised by any cryptocurrency. For example, in January 2018 Einsteinium announced it was partnering with ATW Tech subsidiary Voxtel to implement EMC2 cryptocurrency in all its platforms.
- Roadmap. While Einsteinium will primarily be used to fund scientific research, its roadmap also reveals plans for other platforms linked to the EMC2 coin, including a social media platform and messenger app.
Consider the issues above and a range of other factors before deciding whether or not to buy any EMC2.
