The ninth birthday of Ethereum is a milestone worth marking. Since launching its genesis block nine years ago, Ethereum—the first blockchain to allow smart contracts—has had one breakthrough after another, further evolving what can be done in cryptocurrencies. This reflection ranges over specific moments and accomplishments from the still young but (for public interest in it) ancient history of Ethereum’s highs and lows.
The Genesis Block: Birth Of Ethereum
Ethereum’s genesis story commenced in 2013 through the foresight of programmer Vitalik Buterin, a co-founder of Bitcoin Magazine at that point in time. He documented his imaginings for constructing an open infrastructure that could empower him to engineer clever contracts and decentralized programs without centralized control. Buterin believed that the underlying technologies of blockchain had more potential beyond simply functioning as digital money like Bitcoin and hoped to engineer a software stage where decentralized manifestations could run smoothly. While still in its nascency, he endeavored to develop these seeds of an idea that would ultimately blossom into the robust Ethereum we know today.
Buterin first partnered with eToro CEO Yoni Assia in 2013 on the Colored Coins project, an attempt to broaden blockchain applications. That platform never gained momentum, and Buterin formed a new project with a Turing-complete programming language, which gave birth to what has since become Ethereum. Announced on January 23 by former Bitcoin Magazine founder, the Ethereum blockchain network came into existence on July 30, 2015, when its Genesis Block went live.
In its first year, decentralized applications like Augur and Golem showed what industries Ethereum was going to disrupt. They highlighted the benefits of technology, such as security, transparency, and immutability, and at the same time, they demonstrated that Ethereum could provide alternatives to centralized services.
Highlights & Developments
- In 2016, the DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) was hacked which caused millions of dollars to be lost. This caused a split in the community and resulted in what is now technically referred to as a hard fork, creating two separate chains: Ethereum Classic (ETC) and Ethereum (ETH). While controversial in some circles, the fork showed a robust and adaptable Ethereum.
- 2017 was the year of the ICO (Initial Coin Offering) boom, where the Ethereum blockchain became the choice for fundraising. Its ability to host smart contracts allowed projects to raise funds efficiently, further catalyzing team-built startups and Ethereum adoption globally.
- Ethereum unveiled the roadmap for Ethereum 2.0 (a.k.a. Serenity) in 2018, which details the transition from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake.
- Work on Ethereum 2.0 phases, including the development of the Beacon Chain, commenced as early as late 2019
- In December 2020, the Beacon Chain went live, taking Ethereum closer to what is likely best known for its PoS implementation.
- In 2021, many Layer -2 solutions, such as Optimistic, Roll-Ups, and zkSync, were deployed to solve the scalability and transaction throughput problem. The London Hard Fork also introduced EIP 1559, which alters how fees are structured on Ethereum to improve gas fee predictability (in turn supporting scalability indirectly).
- Ethereum developers started running tests for the complete PoS migration phase in 2022 by merging Ethereum 1.0 with Beacon Chain.
- In 2023, “The Merge transitioned Ethereum to a PoS network, reducing energy use and increasing scalability.
- In 2024 the Dencun upgrade was introduced to enhance data storage and processing capabilities, further contributing to network scalability and efficiency. These modifications dramatically increased the volume of transactions that could be competently sustained without detriment to swiftness or safeguarding. Such enhancements proved integral to accommodating Ethereum’s continually broadening user base, as traffic increasingly strained the framework during bursts of DeFi and NFT utilization. Meanwhile, the innovations established by this upgrade ushered in a new stage, priming the network for even greater scaling and efficiency gains as we advance. Additionally, Ethereum ETFs were introduced on July 23, 2024, contributing significantly to adoption and liquidity. This development allows traditional investors to access Ethereum, strengthening its presence in the market.
From its humble beginnings as a novel concept laid out in a whitepaper to its present status as a bedrock infrastructure supporting trillions of dollars of economic activity, Ethereum has come a long way in the past nine short years. What began as a Proof-of-Concept blockchain using a new type of smart contract functionality is now widely recognized as a leader in decentralization, scalability, and interoperability. Countless incremental and groundbreaking innovations have propelled the project’s evolution, such as the Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain launch, ushering in a new era of sharding and proof-of-stake consensus.
In addition, Layer 2 protocols have exponentially increased throughput while preserving security. Recent protocol upgrades like EIP-1559 and the rollout of Ether-backed investment vehicles for traditional markets have drawn enormous sums of institutional capital. As its creator, Vitalik Buterin, optimistically reflected on passing this symbolic anniversary, he seemed energized by all that this coming decade could hold in store if Ethereum’s realization continues apace. The network’s revolutionary potential is only just starting to be unlocked.