From how to buy it and how it works to smart contracts and ETH2, a complete beginner’s guide to the second-biggest cryptocurrency

What is Ethereum?

Ethereum is the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap after Bitcoin. It is also a decentralized computing platform that can run a wide variety of applications — including the entire universe of DeFi.

Ethereum, which launched in 2015, is the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap after Bitcoin. But unlike Bitcoin, it wasn’t created to be digital money. Instead, Ethereum’s founders set out to build a new kind of global, decentralized computing platform that takes the security and openness of blockchains and extends those attributes to a vast range of applications.  

Everything from financial tools and games to complex databases are already running on the Ethereum blockchain. And its future potential is only limited by developers’ imaginations. As the nonprofit Ethereum Foundation puts it: “Ethereum can be used to codify, decentralize, secure and trade just about anything.”

Popular Ethereum-based innovations include stablecoins (like DAI, which has its value pegged to the dollar by smart contract), decentralized finance apps (collectively known as DeFi), and other decentralized apps (or Dapps).

What’s the difference between Ethereum, Ether, and ETH?

Ethereum is the name of the network. “Ether” is the native cryptocurrency token used by the Ethereum network. That said, in day-to-day usage most people call the token “ETH” (or just “Ethereum”). As a way of sending, receiving, or storing value ETH works much like Bitcoin. But it also has a special role on Ethereum network. Because users pay fees in ETH to execute smart contracts, you can think of it as the fuel that keeps the whole thing running (which is why those fees are called “gas”).

 If Bitcoin is “digital gold,” ETH can be seen as “digital oil.”

Is Ethereum secure?

ETH is currently secured by the Ethereum blockchain in much the same way Bitcoin is secured by its blockchain. A huge amount of computing power — contributed by all the computers on the network — verifies and secures every transaction, making it virtually impossible for any third party to interfere. 

Is Ethereum secure?

The fundamental ideas behind cryptocurrencies help make them safe: the systems are permissionless and the core software is open-source, meaning countless computer scientists and cryptographers have been able to examine all aspects of the networks and their security. 

Apps running on the Ethereum blockchain, however, are only guaranteed to be as secure as their developers have made them. For example, code can sometimes contain bugs that could result in loss of funds. While their source code is also visible to all, the user bases of each individual app are much smaller than Ethereum’s as a whole, and so fewer eyes are on them. It’s important to do research on any decentralized app you plan to use. 

The Ethereum protocol is currently being updated in ways that are intended to make it faster and even more secure. See the Ethereum 2.0 section below for more.

How does Ethereum work?

You might have heard that the Bitcoin blockchain is a lot like a bank’s ledger, or even a checkbook. It’s a running tally of every transaction made on the network going back to the very beginning — and all the computers on the network contribute their computing power towards the work of ensuring that the tally is accurate and secure. 

The Ethereum blockchain, on the other hand, is more like a computer: while it also does the work of documenting and securing transactions, it’s much more flexible than the Bitcoin blockchain. Developers can use the Ethereum blockchain to build a huge variety of tools — everything from logistics management software to games to the entire universe of DeFi applications (which span lending, borrowing, trading, and more).

What is Ethereum 2.0?

Ethereum 2.0 (often referred to as ETH2) is a major upgrade to the Ethereum network. It’s designed to allow the Ethereum network to grow while increasing security, speed, and efficiency. 

As of early 2021, Ethereum 2.0 and Ethereum 1.0 exist side by side — but the original blockchain will eventually merge with ETH2 blockchain. (If you’re an ETH holder you won’t have to do anything — your holdings on the ETH 1.0 blockchain will automatically migrate to the ETH2 blockchain.) The transition to ETH2 began in December of 2020, and is scheduled to take two years.

Why is Ethereum 2.0 necessary? Moving a popular cryptoasset to a new platform is a complex endeavor, but for Ethereum to scale and evolve, it needs to happen. That’s because the “Proof of Work” method used by the ETH 1.0 blockchain to verify transactions causes bottlenecks, increases fees, and consumes substantial resources (particularly electricity).

What is Proof of Work?  How do cryptocurrency networks make sure that nobody spends the same money twice without a central authority like Visa or Paypal in the middle? They use a consensus mechanism. When ETH 1.0 launched, it adopted the consensus mechanism pioneered by Bitcoin: the aptly named Proof of Work. 

What is staking?

What is staking?

Ethereum’s founders were aware of Proof of Work’s limitations. So a very different solution was devised for Ethereum 2.0. — one that will ultimately allow the network to efficiently process thousands of Ethereum transactions a second.

Ethereum 2.0 uses a consensus mechanism called Proof of Stake, which is faster, less resource-intensive, and (at least theoretically) more secure. The end result is similar to Proof of Work’s, in that a network participant is chosen to verify the latest transactions, update the blockchain, and earn some ETH. 

Smart contracts 101

Smart contracts were first proposed in the 1990s by a computer scientist and lawyer named Nick Szabo. Szabo famously compared a smart contract to a vending machine. Imagine a machine that sells cans of soda for a quarter. If you put a dollar into the machine and select a soda, the machine is hardwired to either produce your drink and 75 cents in change, or (if your choice is sold out) to prompt you to make another selection or get your dollar back. This is an example of a simple smart contract. Just like a soda machine can automate a sale without a human intermediary, smart contracts can automate virtually any kind of exchange.

How do you buy Ethereum?

However you acquire your ETH, you’ll need to understand a few basic concepts. Every address on the Ethereum network is issued a public key and a private key, and you’ll need a wallet to manage your crypto holdings.  

How does Ethereum have value?

There are a few ways of thinking about the answer to this question. On one level, Ethereum’s value is set by markets like any other asset. People buy it with Bitcoin, dollars, euros, yen, and other currencies 24 hours a day. Depending on demand, the price can fluctuate from day to day. (Ethereum’s value tends to be volatile compared to currencies such as the US dollar or equities like Fortune 500 stocks because it is still an emerging technology.)

But why the market prices it the way it does is a much more complicated question. To many investors Ethereum’s value is based on its flexibility as a platform for issuing stablecoins and running DeFi applications — resulting in a growing user base and growing transaction fees. 

What’s next for Ethereum?

As of early 2021, Ethereum is host to the vast majority of blockchain applications and has a market cap of just under $200 billion, with over $55 billion locked into tokens on the blockchain. Popular stablecoins such as USDC and USDT mostly live on Ethereum today due to its network effects.

But a variety of new smart contract blockchains are beginning to compete in the space. So while Ethereum is the dominant market leader today, there is growing pressure for it to successfully execute the transition to Ethereum 2.0.

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