EtherDelta is a decentralized trading platform for Ethereum and Ethereum-based tokens (ERC20 tokens). Their goal is to allow anyone to trade Ethereum-based tokens without the need to trust a centralized third party. Although EtherDelta is an interesting platform, it is safe to say that it is not the most convenient solution for novice traders.
To help you start with EtherDelta we are going to shows you how to buy tokens on the platform.
Part 1: Create an account on EtherDelta
Step 1: Go to the EtherDelta website (or click here) (there are a few websites that use variations of this URL to scam user, so always double-check the URL before logging in, the right URL is https://etherdelta.com/)
Because this is a decentralized exchange, there is no website to sign up, you only need to create a wallet to send your funds to (or import an existing one, including MetaMask)
On the upper right corner, click “Select account” and then “New account”
Step 2: A window will open with your Address and Private Key, save it in a safe place as this is the Ethereum wallet which you have connected to EtherDelta.
Part 2: Receive funds
Step 1: If this is your first time using EtherDelta and you have created a wallet right now, as seen in the previous steps, you will have no funds yet. You'll need to send some to your Ethereum address. To do so, use the address you saved in the last step.
Once the transaction is complete, you be able to see yout balance in the upper right corner.
Step 2: Now that you have some ETH in your wallet, you need to deposit it from your wallet to the EtherDelta smart contract so that you can start trading. On your left, you have a section named “balance”, there you have 2 currencies, forget the first for now and below ETH write the amount you want to transfer and press “Deposit”
Part 3: Buy/Sell tokens
Step 1: Now that you have Ether in your account, you can start trading tokens. On the upper left corner near the EtherDelta logo, you'll find a dropdown menu. There, you will choose the currency you want to buy for Ether. In this guide, we are going to buy some Civic (CVC).
Once you click on it, you will be redirected to the market you have selected, in our case ETH/CVC.
Step 2: There are two ways to purchase tokens, as a market taker (1) or as a market maker (2):r
1) Clicking directly on the “Order Book” section. Red orders are buy orders and green ones are sell orders. (Note: You will be charged a 0.3% service fee)
2) Or in the “New order” section (in the middle of the page). As a default, this section is set on the “buy” tab, you can change it to “Sell” in orderto sell tokens. (if someone agrees to buy your sell order, no fee will be charged)
For this guide, we are going to use the “New order” section, fill the gaps with amount to buy and the price, then we'll press “buy” (the Expire value is the number of Ethereum blocks left until the order automatically expires)
Step 3: You can see your order by clicking on the “Order” tab below “My transactions”
Part 4: Withdraw your tokens
Step 1: Once you have your tokens, you can withdraw then to an ethereum wallet that supports ERC20 tokens (like MyEtherWallet). First, go to “Balance”. Then, choose the “withdraw” tab. Once there, you can transfer the coins you want to withdraw by writing the amount and pressing the “withdraw” button
Step 2: Then, choose the “Transfer” tab and below the token you want to transfer write the amount and your wallet address, then press the “transfer” button
In EtherDelta we always work with 2 wallets, the wallet you have created (ether wallet) and the EtherDelta wallet. EtherDelta spends 0.001 ETH with each transaction. This is an overestimate and the excess will get refunded to you. It' important to have more than 0.001 on you Ether wallet (the one you create) so you can pay for future transactions you do on EtherDelta. The gas has to come directly from your Wallet.
That's it! This guide should cover all the basics to start working with EtherDelta, for more information you can click here to visit some official guides on Reddit.