Ethereum is a defined open-source blockchain with its unique cryptocurrency, Ether. It is not only a kind of source for various cryptocurrency items but also a tool helping to execute decentralized smart contracts.
The first mention of ETH is dated 2013, belonging to Vitalik Buterin, who, while cooperating with other co-founders, secured funding for the internet crowdsourcing project in an online publicly available crowd sale in 2014, announced the official launch of blockchain in 2015.
ETH is aimed at becoming the main source containing decentralized apps, making global users able to create software resistant to censorship and fraud.
Creators of Ethereum
It was 8 crypto members who created Ethereum in 2014, in Swiss Zug.
Canadian of Russian origin, Vitalik Buterin wrote an authentic white paper containing ETH definition in 2013. Since then, he has been thoroughly improving his invention.
UK’s programmer Gavin Wood coded the first technical implementation of ETH, developed Ethereum’s native programming language called Solidity and became the first chief technology manager of the ETH Foundation. Then, he continued similar activity, founding Web3 Foundation.
The rest co-founders of ETH: – Anthony Di Iorio, developing initial versions of the project. – Charles Hoskinson, founding Ethereum Foundation with headquarters in Switzerland and taking up all legal issues linked with it. – Mihai Alisie, one of the co-founders of the Ethereum Foundation. – Joseph Lubin, a Canadian businessman, renowned for his substantial contribution to the foundation of ETH and system for ETH startups, ConsenSys. – Amir Chetrit, contributing to the initial level of foundation of Ethereum.
ETH was the 1st cryptocurrency to activate blockchain smart contract source, based on software automatically verifying online agreement between several participants. These programs are aimed at preventing the need for trusted intermediates services, which lead to the minimization of expenses with the growth of transaction credibility.
Gavin Wood, one of the co-founders, called this project “single global computer,” which is believed to expand the program’s reliability, make it uncensored and more sustainable.
Ethereum’s blockchain also can accept other cryptocurrencies, or “tokens,” through the ERC-20 compatibility standard. The area of blockchain’s implementation became the most popular, as the volume of ERC-20-compliant tokens exceeded the mark 280,000. Among them, more than 40 items became leaders in market capitalization
As of August 2020, this quantity was approximately 112 million, among them 72 million produced in the first block on the Ethereum blockchain. 60 million among 72 were allocated to those who helped to found the project. 12 million became the proprietary of development fund.
The remainder was reconstructed as block rewards for those who searched for new money in Ethereum. As of 2015, 5 ETH meant one block, as of 2017 – 3, in 2019 – 2. Mining of one ETH block usually takes 13-15 seconds.
ETH is substantially different from Bitcoin because of its unlimited absolute supply, explained by the desire to have a “defined security budget”.