Seven years after Vitalik Buterin announced the launch of Ethereum on Bitcointalk, the project has remained relevant with the release of significant features and offerings that has led to its massive adoption.
Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, described the network as the “Android of the cryptocurrency world” while calling on Bitcoin enthusiasts to join the initiative as volunteers, developers, investors to foster its growth.
The Journey So Far
Launched as a decentralized network and software development platform, Ethereum allows people to create their altcoins and execute various smart contracts with ease.
Since the project was launched in 2014, developers have built a plethora of cryptocurrencies – ERC-20 tokens – on the blockchain.
In October 2019, Investopedia reported that there were more than 2,000 ERC-20 tokens in existence, including Maker (MKR), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Augur (REP), and OmiseGO (OMG).
Ethereum Leads DeFi Boom
Ethereum has also become home for many decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, as a majority of these projects are built on the Ethereum blockchain.
The DeFi space has continued to gain mass adoption in the industry due to its potential of giving investors massive returns.
With many crypto users knowing the opportunities of DeFi investments, the Total Value Locked (TVL) in DeFi apps has reached a whopping $26.5 billion, less than a year after the value first reached $1 billion.
Ethereum 2.0
Despite its popularity in the financial space, Ethereum is not relenting, with new upgrades and improvements being released.
Recently, developers announced Ethereum 2.0, an upgrade tipped to solve the network’s flaws, including fixing the ETH supply calculation.
Furthermore, the upgrade will boost Ethereum transaction processing speed to keep pace with PayPal and Visa’s offerings.
When fully launched, the upgrade will see Ethereum shift from its existing proof-of-work (PoW) algorithm to a proof-of-stake (PoS) model.
Implementing the upgrade will take away the power of producing new Ether coins from miners to stakers.
Ethereum 2.0 phase 0, Beacon chain was launched on December 1, 2020, after more than 16,384 validators staked 32 ETH each.
