Assets, Ethereum

Can People Short Ethereum?

As many of you know, Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of fraud or third party interference.

These apps run on a custom built blockchain, an enormously powerful shared global infrastructure that can move value around and represent the ownership of property. This enables developers to create markets, store registries of debts or promises, move funds in accordance with instructions given long in the past (like a will or a futures contract) and many other things that have not been invented yet, all without a middleman or counterparty risk.

The project was bootstrapped via an ether presale in August 2014 by fans all around the world. It is developed by the Ethereum Foundation, a Swiss non-profit, with contributions from great minds across the globe.

Ethereum is still in development and subject to significant technical improvements over time. While Ethereum is currently proof-of-work (PoW), it is soon to become proof-of-stake (PoS).

NOTE: WARNING: Trading Ethereum on a margin can be highly risky. As with any other financial instrument, it is possible to lose money trading Ethereum. Leveraged trading carries a higher degree of risk and is not suitable for all investors. Please do your own research and exercise caution when considering any leveraged trading strategy.

What does this mean?

Proof-of-stake is a type of algorithm by which a cryptocurrency blockchain network aims to achieve distributed consensus. In PoS-based cryptocurrencies the creator of the next block is chosen via various combinations of random selection and wealth or age (i.e.

, the stake).

So, can people short Ethereum? In general, yes. People can short Ethereum on various exchanges that offer this service.

However, it’s important to note that Ethereum’s transition to PoS may affect how easy it is to short in the future.

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