The World's Second-Largest Cryptocurrency Celebrated its 8th Birthday
Ethereum, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, celebrated its 8th anniversary on July 30, 2023. The Ethereum network was first announced by the Ethereum Foundation in 2015, with the vision of creating a censorship-proof 'world computer' that anyone could program. Today, Ethereum boasts a market cap of $225 billion and has over 1,900 monthly active developers.
Over the years, Ethereum has grown a lot and become very popular. It now has a total value of $400 billion, which is a huge amount. People using Ethereum have made a profit of $3.6 billion each year. They have also created 17.8 million blocks of digital assets, which shows how much it is being used. The currency used in Ethereum is called Ether, and it reached its highest value ever on November 10, 2021, when it was worth $4,878. But right now, its value is $1,869.
The #crypto2023 community celebrated a special event by sharing memories and reflecting on Ethereum's journey. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao shared stories about how excited Vitalik Buterin, one of Ethereum's co-founders, was about the project in the beginning. Some people even joked by calling Ethereum their "favorite Bitcoin sidechain."
Ethereum has made a big impact on the crypto world. One of the main reasons is its smart contract feature, which allows people to create their own digital contracts. This was a huge deal during the initial coin offering craze in 2017 when many new cryptocurrencies were launched. Then, in 2020, there was a big growth in decentralized finance (DeFi) projects on Ethereum, which people called the "DeFi summer." These projects offered various financial services without relying on traditional banks or institutions.
On September 15, 2022, the #Ethereumnetwork went through a major upgrade called "Merge." This upgrade changed the way Ethereum is maintained and secured. Before this, it used a method called "proof-of-work," which required a lot of energy. But after the upgrade, it switched to a new method called "proof-of-stake," which uses much less energy. This change is great for the environment and makes Ethereum even stronger in the world of cryptocurrencies. Now, people who help validate transactions (called validators) and investors can earn rewards for participating in the network. As Ethereum enters its ninth year, the crypto community is excited to see how it will keep growing and improving.
