The ether sale FAQ

StephanTualStephanTual London, EnglandMember, Moderator Posts: 1,282 mod
edited October 2014 in Ether Sale
The ether sale has now ended on September 2nd, 2014! It took place exclusively on our website at https://www.ethereum.org/
Note that it's NOT possible to purchase, sell, transfer or otherwise acquire any more ether until genesis, when the ethereum mainnet launches.


IMPORTANT

KEEP YOUR WALLET AND PASSWORD safe. Without your wallet AND password, your ether will be unrecoverable, permanently.



What is the ether sale?

To simplify the dissemination of information, all documentation including development plan, updated whitepaper and intended use of revenue can be found on our website at https://www.ethereum.org/

A summary by Vitalik can be found at:
https://blog.ethereum.org/2014/07/22/launching-the-ether-sale/

All updates will be done via our blog on https://blog.ethereum.org and this FAQ. It's also likely you'll want to follow our Twitter account for up to the minute information.


I have a problem

Contact [email protected] immediately. We'll try to respond as soon as we can, and is the best way to get the help you need.

More advanced users can study this guide for common solutions to problems:
https://blog.ethereum.org/2014/07/23/ether-purchase-troubleshooting/


I purchased ether and want to make sure it worked

To check your balance, go to https://www.ethereum.org, and scroll down until the message that says "If you have already purchased ether, you can check your account balance by entering your address here:". Type in or paste your ether address (not your email address) and then press 'check balance'. A pop up will appear with your balance displayed.


I would like to purchase some more ether

You have two options:

1) You could go through the sale process one more time, and download a separate wallet. You can opt to choose a different password, which we recommend. You do not have to use a different email address.

2) You could use the python tool, located at https://github.com/ethereum/pyethsaletool

The steps:
1) send further btc to the intermediary address you were given
2) python pyethsaletool.py finalize -w /path/to/wallet.json


I can download the wallet before I sent bitcoins, why is that?

Think of the wallet as a gift card. You can pick one of from the store, for free, but it doesn't contain any funds. The final step of the ether sale process 'loads' the ether onto your wallet. We had to create this two step process because the final step depends on external APIs over which we have no control, and could potentially interrupt the sale process. By downloading your wallet early, you insure your ether are safe.


Can I buy ether by card, bank transfer or paypal, etc....

No. The only method of payment accepted is bitcoin.

We are aware of several websites, twitter accounts, email campaigns all designed to defraud potential ether purchases. Some will claim to accept other methods of payments. These are all fraudulent. The only place where ether can be purchased is https://www.ethereum.org/ (note carefully the address in your browser bar, and insure it says 'https' when purchasing ether).


I have received my wallet, what now?

The wallet is a .json file (text file) that contains important information, but currently cannot be used with the alpha clients. The alpha clients are running on something called the 'testnet', which is purely for testing. Only the final, release clients will be able to open the .json wallets, once ethereum is released and the network goes live.

There is nothing to do with the file. There is no need to open it. And DO NOT MODIFY its internal contents, and KEEP IT SAFE, alongside with your password. A good way to keep your wallet safe is to place it on an encrypted USB drive and place it as a bank vault or similar. More technical users could also follow this guide written by the community, although we haven't tested it and cannot vouch for its accuracy.


I want to make sure that my ether was actually purchased

Please refer to https://blog.ethereum.org/2014/07/23/ether-purchase-troubleshooting/


I sent more BTC into the intermediate address after the web app finalized.

Please refer to https://blog.ethereum.org/2014/07/23/ether-purchase-troubleshooting/


My question is not listed here.

For anything else please email [email protected].
Post edited by StephanTual on
This discussion has been closed.