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It is natural with technological breakthroughs for systems we use to evolve, and in 2008 Bitcoin was introduced as the first system able to replace the traditional financial system using blockchain technology. So naturally, people started asking themselves, can we do more with this new blockchain technology? Once again, tech-savvy folks began exploring and creating, and behold, Ethereum was born.
Ether (ETH) is the native cryptocurrency of the blockchain network Ethereum.
Ethereum is the world’s first general-purpose programmable blockchain. Unlike Bitcoin, which was created to be the world’s first digital currency allowing the transfer of value between parties without intermediaries, Ethereum has built on top of that, allowing users to use blockchain technology to create distinct kinds of applications that impact many other of the world industries besides finance, such as gaming, art, logistics, etc.
Like Bitcoin pried the door open for the new concept of finance with cryptocurrencies, Ethereum has elevated this to a new level by giving people new possibilities with crypto and blockchain technology that will lead to many new technological advancements.
Ethereum has also started a new path in cryptocurrency networks, where it is almost imaginable for a cryptocurrency network not to have some distinct programmable features. One of the most prominent features Ethereum has given us are Smart Contracts, self-executing pieces of code that require no human to work.
You can consider Smart Contract to be a vending machine. If the required amount of cash is inserted into a machine, you get the product. If not, you need to insert more. If the amount is over the price, you get the product and some change back.
Smart Contracts are the way people are able to create different automatized actions and applications on Ethereum that require no humans to operate or adjust.
Finally, Ethereum is the home of over 4000 different applications that use cryptocurrency in various industries besides finance.
Here are some of the use cases for your Ethereum (ETH) tokens:
At the time of writing (June 5th, 2024), Ethereum’s price is $3,808. The current Market Cap ranking is #2, with a market cap of $456.6B.
Similar to Bitcoin, Ethereum has begun the year 2024 on a strong note, more than doubling in price and reaching $4100. The year started with a market boost, driving up the prices of all cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum. Additionally, in May 2024, the first ETH spot ETFs were launched in the US, spearheaded by major financial institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity.
Throughout its existence, Ethereum has averaged a year-on-year return of 179.2%
Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum’s supply is not capped, and it can go to infinity. But here is the catch. ETH burns 60% of users’ fees when transacting, thus making it a deflationary asset.
Ethereum also had an initial token distribution in the early days of the network, and it went as follows:
The current token circulation of Ethereum is 120,148,358.
As the second-biggest cryptocurrency globally and the primary currency needed to use all apps built on Ethereum, Ether has become an in-demand asset. It is available for purchase in many ways, with a high supply available since it is not capped.
The primary way people buy their Ether is through centralized exchanges because they offer the ability to purchase them with credit\debit cards, which most people prefer.
Although significantly more complicated, the second way is through decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap. Decentralized exchanges usually require users to already have some cryptocurrencies in their wallets to buy other cryptos.
Finally, it can be purchased easily through a broker app such as our Veli App, where you can get your hands on some Ether in just a few taps on the screen.
Eight people co-founded Ethereum:
This is the official roadmap of Ethereum:
Here is a quick overview of all six phases of the Ethereum roadmap shared by Vitalik Buterin:
Ethereum has amassed a huge community over the years of existence. It now has hundreds of thousands of developers, designers, enthusiasts, etc. The popularity is so massive that there are over ten official Ethereum conferences globally and many others where Ethereum is one of the main subjects.
There is a lot of stuff to do in the Ethereum community, from contributing to a project, finding a job in many companies based on Ethereum, joining different kinds of organizations, or even funding your own Ethereum startup with the power of grants.
Ethereum Foundation has raised $18.4M in funding over nine rounds (ICO). Their latest funding was raised on Jan 1, 2021 from a Venture – Series Unknown round. Some of the Investors are Alexis Berthoud, Julian Sarokin, Zachary Snader, 8 Decimal Capital, Placeholder, Arbi Khodagholian, Block Ventures, Winklevoss Capital, KR1, George Burke, and many others.
Besides the regular cryptocurrency regulation talks and possible new laws coming, Ethereum has not had any legal problems whatsoever. The recent launches of ETH spot ETFs in the US by major financial institutions such as BlackRock and Fidelity indicate a significant rise in Ethereum adoption, reaching high levels of recognition and acceptance in the financial sector.
Ethereum is growing rapidly as more and more people are interested in it due to its new technological breakthroughs. Here are some numbers to show it:
Ethereum has a lot of competition. Some of those are Solana, Cardano, Avalanche, etc. However, the main competitors are BNB and the #1 market cap blockchain, Bitcoin. Let us see how Bitcoin, BNB, and Ethereum compare.
Bitcoin is the world’s first cryptocurrency and it differs from Ethereum in the way that it only serves as a store of value and transfer of value between parties while you can use Ethereum to build different kinds of apps. The competition is currently at what cryptocurrency will eventually be worth more.
BNB is the first blockchain network to follow in Ethereum’s footsteps in being programmable and allowing users to build apps on it. However, BNB is slightly faster than Ethereum and all the apps built are centered around the products that the Binance exchange offers.
Here is also a table that illustrates the competition through some numbers.
Ethereum | Bitcoin | BNB | |
|---|---|---|---|
Transactions Per Second | 15 | 7 | 55-60 |
Time Needed to Confirm a Transaction | 6 min | 60 min | <5s |
Average Transaction Fee | 15$ | 1.62$ | 0.31$ |
Market Cap | $457b | $1.4t | $103b |
Circulation Supply | No limit on the number of tokens | 93.85% in circulation | no limit on the MAX number of tokens |
Total Number of Wallet Addresses | 212.66m | 1.29b | 453.22m |
Total Number of Daily Active Users | 457.4k | 654.7k | 1.07m |
Launch Date | 2015 | 2009 | 2017 |
Average Growth Rate | 145.1% | 80.79% | 160.3% |
As with any other asset class, there are risks involved when it comes to investing. Since there are many kinds of cryptocurrencies, risks can be grouped into two categories – general risks that apply when investing in cryptocurrencies and risks that only apply to specific assets.
We have prepared a guide that addresses general cryptocurrency investing risks and offers tips on how to mitigate them, while risks that only apply to specific assets are addressed directly in the coin guides such as this one.
Website: https://ethereum.org/en/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ethereum
Ethereum is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency and a native token of the blockchain network with the same name. Ethereum has started a revolution in the crypto and blockchain industry by being the first blockchain network that allows users to leverage blockchain technology and create different applications for many present industries. Ethereum is a pioneer in a new technological breakthrough called Smart Contracts, self-executing pieces of code that require no humans to operate.
The price of Ethereum has made a more than 2x jump from the start of 2024, reaching an the price of $4100. The average year-on-year return of Ethereum is 145.1%. It has attracted many investors throughout its lifetime, raising over $18M in nine funding rounds. With the approval of ETH spot ETFs in the US, led by major financial institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity, Ethereum is becoming widely adopted and more accessible to many investors.
With an exciting roadmap ahead, which will potentially allow it to achieve 100K transactions per second, we can only sit back and wait to see where Ethereum is headed in the future.
