The History of ETH: The Rise of the Ethereum Blockchain
Cryptocurrency has become a powerful and popular force in today’s economy, with many users trusting it as a form of payment or as an investment. But it was only a decade ago that many of the major coins, such as Ethereum (ETH) first appeared. It wasn’t always easy, but Ethereum is now one of the most prominent cryptocurrencies on the market, with a huge market capitalization. In this article we’re going to take look at the history of ETH and trace its rise to the top of the cryptocurrency world.
Vitalik Buterin and the Creation of Ethereum
Vitalik Buterin is credited with creating the Ethereum platform. He was born in 1994, in Russia, and moved to Canada as a child. Before Ethereum, Buterin was already a highly accomplished hackathon winner and a cryptocurrency enthusiast. He was working with Bitcoin Magazine when he had the idea of creating Ethereum. Buterin first proposed the idea of Ethereum in 2013 and worked through 2014 perfecting the platform.
Ethereum ICO and Initials Launch
In July of 2014, Ethereum held its initial crowdfunding round, better known as an ICO, where users could purchase ETH tokens. Although the full launch of the Ethereum platform wouldn’t happen until a year later, this initial crowdfunding round was still a major step forward. During this ICO, over 81 million ETH tokens were sold and $18 million was raised.
Launch of the Ethereum Platform
On the 30th of July, 2015 the Ethereum network was officially launched after undergoing a 5-month development and testing period. During this period, the community got to set up Ethereum clients, build decentralized applications, and get involved in the MVP testnet. This launch was made possible by the hands-off approach taken by Buterin, who had taken a backseat during the development and testing out of respect for developers and the community.
Rise of Ethereum
The launch of Ethereum on the 30th of July, 2015 sparked the beginning of the rise of ETH. Developers were actively taking part in the network and building new, creative decentralized applications. These applications, and the growing support for Ethereum, led to the increase in interest for the cryptocurrency, thus causing its price to rise.
Notable Accomplishments
Throughout the 16th of July, 2015 to the 30th of July 2016 notable accomplishments were made by the Ethereum platform. These accomplishments are listed below:
• The Homestead Release, which made huge commitments to the scalability and privacy of Ethereum.
• The Proof of Stake algorithm adaptation, a spike in network security.
• The development of a platform for initial coin offerings.
• The adoption of the ERC-721 token standard for building Non-fungible tokens.
• The release of Ethereum 2.0.
The Controversies of Ethereum
Although Ethereum has seen a relatively successful rise to power, there have been many controversies that have marred the success of the cryptocurrency, including the Parity hacks, and the DAO hacks.
The Parity Hack
The first major controversy happened in 2017. A vulnerability in the Parity multi-signature wallets allowed for an attacker to gain access to a large number of wallets and subsequently lock them. This allowed the attacker to gain access to approximately $32 million worth of ETH tokens.
The DAO Hack
The DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) hack happened in June 2016, and was caused by a vulnerability in the Ethereum smart contracts. Thisallow hackers to access approximately $60 million worth of ETH tokens.
The rise of Ethereum has been remarkable. It has grown from a small project to become one of the top cryptocurrencies in the world. Ethereum has survived many trials and tribulations and has emerged triumphant. It has become the power-house cryptocurrency that it is today because of the work of Vitalik Buterin and the countless developers who believed in the potential of Ethereum. We can only prepare for what lies ahead and hope that Ethereum will continue to grow and thrive.
