Ever since its launch way back in 2015 by a Russian software developer & programmer, Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum (ETH) has changed the way people looked at cryptocurrency.
Initially, Bitcoin was used only as an open-source payment platform where two people could send digital currency without a central authority.
As Bitcoin was limited to payments, the ETH programmer wanted to do more from open-source decentralized blockchain, where developers can build their own crypto projects with ease and make changes to suit their use cases.
To accept and send Ethereum, the user only needs an internet connection and a cryptocurrency wallet. There is no third party, so you don’t need access to a bank account to accept payments.
Other than this, there are some more details, a user may know about Ethereum.
Ethereum initially was a crowd-funded project. The idea to build was deliberated in 2013 when cryptocurrency had just taken its baby step. Without funding, the project did not take off until 2015.
Though users can use Ethereum to exchange money with someone else, it is not just a cryptocurrency, but an ecosystem for decentralized applications (DApps). A developer can build various DApps, games, social media applications by using the Ethereum blockchain.
1. Own smart contract
Ethereum is written in C++, Go & Rust and it has its own dedicated contract programming language that builds smart contracts, which is very popular as Solidity. This smart contract can be used by any developer to build their own contract over them, this saves time and resources.
You don’t have to buy 1 whole Ethereum, as it is divisible up to 18 decimal places, You can buy fractions at a time.
2. Consensus mechanism
Anyone can mine on the Ethereum network using their computer, as it uses a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. However, not everyone can mine ether (ETH) profitably. In most cases, miners must purchase dedicated computer hardware to mine profitably.
However, in an upgraded version, it is moving from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
This will increase Ethereum transaction speed from 30 transactions per second (TPS) to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS).
3. Moving to proof-of-stake
“Staking is the act of depositing 32 ETH to activate validator software. As a validator, you’ll be responsible for storing data, processing transactions, and adding new blocks to the blockchain. This will keep Ethereum secure for everyone and earn you new ETH in the process. This process, known as proof-of-stake, is being introduced by the Beacon Chain,” according to Ethereum.org.
The upgrade rollout is scheduled to happen in phases; phase 0, phase 1, and phase 2. Phase 0 has already been rolled out in December 2020 with the implementation of the beacon chain.
4. Managed
Ethereum blockchain is managed by the EEA (Enterprise Ethereum Alliance), a global community of blockchain leaders, adopters, innovators, developers, and businesses from around the globe whose objective is to drive the use of Enterprise Ethereum and Mainnet Ethereum blockchain technology as an open-standard to empower ALL enterprises.
5. Supported by MNCs
Ethereum is supported by big multinational companies and has members from Consensys, J P Morgan, The Open Foundation, Accenture, Microsoft, Santander, Samsung SDS, Toyota Research Institute, Merck GAA, Intel, Deloitte, DTCC, ING, Bank of Canada, and BNY Mellon.
Ethereum is positioned as an open-source platform and enables DApps to be built on its blockchain.
