Your identity in Ethereum, your Ethereum account, is defined by your Ethereum Private Key - 32 bytes of random data. Your Ethereum (Private) Key represents who you are, and is used to control access to your assets in the Ethereum network such as Ether or smart contracts. Needless to say, ensuring that your Ethereum Key is secure is absolutely critical. Specifically, the access control mentioned above is provided through the use of cryptographic signatures - a unique, unforge-able tag which proves a given piece of data was produced by a given Private Key (or person).

It is but I would rather stick to bitcoin for various reasons. Pick a decent exchange/broker like [https://thejingstock.com/](https://thejingstock.com/) and don't take unnecessary risks with altcoins.