Here are the best stocks to buy if you want to add Ethereum to your portfolio:

1. Grayscale Ethereum Trust The Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE 3.76%) is a managed fund that makes it easy to add Ethereum to your brokerage account. Each share is backed by a fixed amount of Ether tokens (approximately 0.01 Ether per share).

Keep in mind that the fund's share price is often lower than the value of Ethereum at the prevailing conversion rate. Grayscale also charges a somewhat expensive annual management fee of 2.5%. Shareholders can't exchange shares for Ethereum, so there's no price arbitrage opportunity.

1. Bitwise Ethereum Fund Bitwise is the world's biggest crypto index fund manager. It offers managed funds for multiple types of cryptocurrency, and one option is the Bitwise Ethereum Fund.

The fund is available to accredited investors and has a minimum investment of $25,000. The fund's managers seek to minimize transaction costs, and they hold the fund's Ethereum offline in cold crypto storage, making it a cost-efficient and secure Ethereum stock. There's an annual management fee of 1.5%.

If you want a more diverse digital asset portfolio, check out the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW 7.18%), which includes a mix of several of the top cryptocurrencies.

1. Coinbase Coinbase (COIN -5.21%) is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. The company charges transaction fees to buyers and sellers of a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum. In addition to Ethereum, many other cryptocurrencies traded on Coinbase use the Ethereum blockchain.

The exchange rolled out Ethereum staking in 2021, allowing investors to lock up their Ether and earn rewards on it during the upgrade to a proof-of-stake system. Coinbase's staking program is expected to significantly benefit from the completion of The Merge. Analysis from Goldman Sachs (GS -0.81%) predicts that Coinbase will generate $250 million to $600 million in additional revenue from Ethereum staking.

1. Staked ETH Trust The Staked ETH Trust is the first traditional investment vehicle that allowed shareholders to get Ethereum exposure and receive staking rewards. It's open by private placement to accredited investors, with a minimum investment amount of $25,000 and an expense ratio of 1%.

Considering the attention that Ethereum staking is getting from The Merge, the fund could become very popular. The staking rewards allow the trust's underlying Ether holdings to grow about 7.5% annually, helping it to outperform non-staking funds.

The biggest advantage of the Staked ETH Trust is how much it simplifies staking for investors. You invest in it by buying shares, like any traditional investment vehicle, and the staking itself is handled by the fund administrator.

1. Robinhood Markets Robinhood Markets (HOOD -3.11%) may be best known as the discount broker that ushered in the age of commission-free trading. That's not the only way it has been ahead of the game. In 2018, it began offering crypto trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The broker has since expanded its selection to include a few other cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin (LTC 0.82%) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH -1.74%). Although Robinhood isn't a pure cryptocurrency play, it does offer some exposure to Ethereum.

How to invest in Ethereum If you want to directly invest in Ethereum, you can buy it through a crypto exchange, a stock broker, or even a payment app that carries it. Since Ethereum is one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, it's available on almost all platforms that sell crypto.

Here are the different types of platforms you can use to buy Ethereum:

Cryptocurrency exchanges: The exchanges let users buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies. Examples of popular crypto exchanges include Coinbase and Gemini. Stock brokers: Some stock brokers have started selling select cryptocurrencies, with Robinhood being the most prominent example. Payment apps: You can buy and sell crypto, including Ethereum, on PayPal (PYPL -5.07%) and Venmo, which is owned by PayPal. For serious crypto investors, a crypto exchange is usually the best option. Exchanges offer the widest selection of cryptocurrencies and the most features. They also let you transfer your crypto off the exchange to a crypto wallet that you control. Stock brokers and payment apps often don't let you transfer your crypto anywhere.

Should you invest in Ethereum?

Ethereum technology is at the core of most blockchain applications. Many believe blockchain will play a significant role in the future of finance and other industries, making exposure to Ethereum technology a potentially profitable addition to your investment portfolio.

The value of Ether as a digital currency is much more volatile and unpredictable than the growth of Ethereum technology. You can mitigate some of that risk and should take steps to guard against hacking, but, ultimately, the value of any investment directly linked to Ether is likely to fluctuate.

Any of the above investment recommendations deserves consideration, especially if you believe that the development of blockchain technology is only just beginning.