As Ethereum firmly holds onto the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap spot (by roughly $35 billion), we thought now is as good a time as any to take a look at Ethereum’s use cases and its contributions to the crypto world. As the project nears the eve of their ETH 2.0 launch, we’re exploring how Ethereum has transformed the crypto realm.
The Start Of It All
First conceptualized in a white paper in 2013, Vitalik Buterin introduced the world to Ethereum. Roughly two years later, several new co-founders, and after a very successful crowd sale, Ethereum officially launched its blockchain. The decentralized open-source blockchain system offers developers a platform on which they can build decentralized applications (dApps), as well create their own cryptocurrencies through their token standard offering.
Ethereum also introduced the world to smart contracts, a decentralized agreement requiring no third party. According to their website, the platform’s goal is to become a global base for decentralized applications, providing a platform for developers to write and run software that is resistant to censorship, downtime and fraud. So far, they’re certainly reaching their target.
Ethereum And Decentralized Applications
Different to normal applications which run off a centralized server, dApps run off of a decentralized network, using a peer to peer system. Typically these dApps are open source with the running of the network incentivized through tokens provided to those who validate the transactions. The exact details individual to each dApp are fleshed out with a specific protocol, on which the community will all agree.
According to State Of The Dapps, there are currently 2605 dApps operating. Of those 2605, 1901 are built on the Ethereum blockchain, making up 72% of the market share. These dApps span across a range of categories like games, gambling, social, property and more. Ethereum has well and truly positioned themselves as the leader in dApp creation.
Ethereum And Smart Contracts
Ethereum introduced the world to its first smart contract platform. This introduction to the blockchain world allowed various teams to leverage blockchain technology and create their own blockchain-based companies, without needing to build an entirely new network.
Smart contracts are self executing agreements that can be used across a plethora of industries, from finance, to property management, to weather. Currently, various industries are investigating the use case for smart contracts to track music industry royalties, supply chains, farm to table initiatives, luxury clothing and accessory verification and even electronic voting possibilities.
A prime example of Ethereum’s vast use case is Tether, the stablecoin that is currently ranking third in terms of cryptocurrencies with the highest market rank. The stablecoin is pegged to the US dollar and is built upon the very platform it sits behind.
As all smart contracts are stored on every node of the blockchain, sometimes the network can get congested or run at a slower speed. This is soon to be improved with the implementations of ETH 2.0 and their move to proof of stake.
What Does ETH 2.0 Have In Sight
The new and improved version of Ethereum is by way of moving the network to a parallel proof of stake chain. This is expected to increase the speed at which transactions are verified, as well as overcome several scaling issues that the network is experiencing. According to the website, ETH 2.0 is due to be “more scalable, more secure, and more sustainable.”
Tap into the new world of ETH 2.0 by purchasing ETH before the official launch. All you need to do is download the Tap Global app and the intuitive app will guide you through the rest.
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