What is Ethereum (ETH)?

Ethereum today is mentioned more often than Bitcoin, but what is Ethereum, and what is unique about it?

Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud, or third-party interference. These smart contracts are written in a high-level programming language called Solidity and are executed by the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which runs on Ethereum nodes.

How is Ethereum different from Bitcoin?

I remember seeing Ethereum(ETH) at the price of $2 for the first time in the Coinbase account back in 2016, and my first question was; 

– What is this different from the already famous Bitcoin technology?

Since then, ETH blockchain and its developers have blown us away with the number of innovations that have proven the true potential of the emerging technology to the whole world.

For that matter and not only many experts claim that ETH is set to overtake Bitcoin in price sooner than we think.

Ethereum has a support power of a group of 500 companies called The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance that agreed to work together and build and improve upon Ethereum’s smart-contract technology.

Ethereum is a ledger technology used by companies and individuals to build programs.

The History of ETH 

The Ethereum’s timeline begins in 2013 when Vitalik Buterin, with the help of his co-founders Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio, and Joseph Lubin, conceived ETH.

Buterin chose Ethereum after browsing a list of elements from science fiction on Wikipedia. 

He stated, “I immediately realized that I liked it better than all of the other alternatives that I had seen; I suppose it was the fact that it sounded nice and it had the word ‘ether,’ referring to the hypothetical invisible medium that permeates the universe and allows light to travel.”

Ethereum creators soon launched its native token ether in August 2014, and the company sold 50 million coins at the price of $0.31 per coin through an initial coin offering (ICO).

Since its initial launch, Ether has seen numerous protocol updates and developments that have improved the platform’s functionality.

The updates have never stopped since on the platform.

The functionality, community, and massive interest of corporations and wealthy individuals sent the price for ETH to an all-time high of $4800 in September 2021.

How do I invest in Ethereum?

Buying Ether is pretty easy; you download a crypto exchange or a crypto wallet app, register, add your favourite payment method, and done.

Ethereum usually is available on all platforms, don’t matter which one you pick as long as it has a robust security system in place.

What is Ethereum 2.0?

Ethereum 2.0, also called “Serenity” or ETH 2.0, is an upgrade to Ethereum’s blockchain.

The upgrade aims to improve the efficiency, speed, and scalability of Ethereum so It can process more transactions for lower fees.

A the time of writing this article ( March 2022), ETH 2.0 is launched in several phases, but the complete upgrade is expected to occur in 2023.

Disclaimer: The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. Kryptotourist does not offer financial advice or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks or securities.