Published on Sep 22, 2021

What is Ethereum?

Parag

#Learn

6 Min

Ethereum is a blockchain platform with its own cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), and programming language, Solidity. As a blockchain network, Ethereum is a decentralized public ledger that is used for transaction verification and recording. Users of the network may create, publish, monetize, and use apps on the platform, as well as pay using the Ether cryptocurrency. Decentralized apps on the network are referred to as “dApps” by insiders.

Ethereum enables free access to digital money and data-friendly services to everyone, regardless of background or location. It is the technology that underpins the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) as well as hundreds of applications.

In 2015, Ethereum launched its beta version. It includes the Ethereum virtual computer, or EVM, which can execute smart contracts as a representation of financial transactions including swaps, options contracts, and coupon paying bonds. Ethereum may be used to fulfil employment contracts, operate as a trustworthy escrow, and execute wagers and bets.

Ethereum 2.0 (ETH2)

Ethereum 2.0 (ETH2), commonly known as Eth2 or “Serenity,” is a blockchain update. The upgrade seeks to improve the Ethereum network’s speed, efficiency, and scalability, allowing it to handle more transactions and alleviate bottlenecks. Ethereum’s existing mining process will be replaced by a staking model as part of this update.

It is a big endeavor on the part of the developers that will not be completed overnight. Instead, Ethereum 2.0 is unfolding in stages, the first of which occurred in 2020 with Phase 0, often known as the Beacon Chain. The second phase is known as The Merge, and it marks the official transition of the Ethereum network to the Beacon Chain as its consensus mechanism. This is expected to happen towards the end of 2021, and it will permit staking over the whole network, ushering in the end of energy-intensive mining. Shard Chains, the third and final phase, is set to begin sometime in 2022. This stage will see the Ethereum network divide in order to improve its capacity for verifying transactions, storing data, and increasing speed over time.

Ethereum 2.0 will provide a slew of new features that are sure to entice even more developers to join the network. The three major enhancements are as follows:

Increased scalability
Increased security
Increased sustainability

How does Ethereum work?

Ethereum, like all cryptocurrencies, is built on a blockchain network.
It is distributed in the sense that everyone on the Ethereum network has an identical copy of the ledger, allowing them to observe all previous transactions. It is monitored by all distributed ledger holders.
Anyone may form a financial contract or store debt or ownership registries on the ledger, eliminating the need for an external record-keeper or trust officer. They are referred to as “trustless” transactions.
Cryptography is used in blockchain transactions to safeguard the network and verify transactions.
People use computers to “mine,” or solve complicated mathematical equations that confirm each transaction on the network and add new blocks to the system’s blockchain.
Participants receive cryptocurrency tokens as a reward. These tokens are known as Ether in the Ethereum system (ETH).

What is the purpose of Ethereum?

Ethereum can drive a variety of apps that perform a variety of functions:

Currency: A cryptocurrency wallet allows you to transfer and receive ether as well as pay for products and services.
Decentralized finance: Some people may be able to circumvent centralized (government) control by utilizing Ethereum.
Non-fungible Tokens: These tokens can be powered by Ethereum and used to sell directly to sellers using smart contracts.
Smart contracts: Smart contracts are a type of permission-less program that executes automatically when the contract’s criteria are satisfied.
Digital Apps (dApps): Ethereum enables digital apps that let users to play games, invest, send money, manage an investment portfolio, and follow social media accounts.

It may be more appropriate to see Ethereum as a token that powers multiple apps rather than a coin that allows users to pay money to one another.

Bitcoin vs Ethereum

Ethereum is a decentralized computer, whereas Bitcoin is digital gold.
Bitcoin was designed as a decentralized alternative money.
Ethereum is inspired by Bitcoin, but has bigger goals: To build a software platform that supports not only cryptocurrencies, but any type of decentralized application that can function without the need for a third party, allowing individuals more control over their data.
After Bitcoin, Ethereum is perhaps the second most popular cryptocurrency. It was the first cryptocurrency to include “smart contracts,” and it has the second highest market capitalization in the whole cryptocurrency industry.
Ethereum mining, according to cryptocurrency professionals and analysts, is more profitable than Bitcoin mining.
Bitcoin’s principal function is that of a virtual money and a store of value.
Although Ether may be used as a virtual currency and a store of value, the decentralized Ethereum network allows for the creation and execution of apps, smart contracts, and other transactions on the network. These functionalities are not available in Bitcoin.
Ethereum was intended to complement Bitcoin, not to compete with it.
Transactions on the Ethereum network are significantly quicker than those on the Bitcoin network.
Basically, Ethereum is a platform, whereas Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency.

What is Ethereum Mining?

We need to ensure that everyone agrees on the sequence of transactions in decentralised systems like Ethereum. Miners contribute to this by solving computationally tough problems in order to generate blocks, which serve as a means of protecting the network from assaults.

The process of producing a block of transactions to be added to the Ethereum blockchain is known as mining. Mining is the lifeblood of proof-of-work. Ethereum miners are machines that run software and use their time and computing capacity to process transactions and generate blocks.

Mining Ethereum is basically similar to mining bitcoin. Both make use of work proof (PoW). PoW is a competitive activity in which miners write transactions to a new block that is added to the blockchain. By running a hashing script, a miner successfully mines a new block while competing with other miners.

Working of Ethereum mining:

A user creates and signs a transaction request using some account’s private key.
From some node, the user broadcasts the transaction request to the whole Ethereum network.
Each node in the Ethereum network adds the new transaction request to their local mempool, a list of all transaction requests they’ve heard about that haven’t yet been committed to the blockchain in a block.
At some point, a mining node combines many dozen or hundred transaction requests into a possible block in such a way that the transaction fees earned are maximized while remaining under the block gas limit.
The mining node then verifies the legitimacy of each transaction request before executing the request’s code.
Starts the process of creating the Proof-of-Work “certificate of validity” for the proposed block.
A miner will eventually complete issuing a certificate for a block. The miner then broadcasts the finished block, and the claimed new EVM state’s checksum.
Other nodes get aware of the new block. They validate the certificate, execute all transactions on the block, and verify the checksum of their new EVM state.
All transactions in the new block are removed from each node’s local mempool of unmet transaction requests.
When new nodes join the network, they download all blocks in order, including the block containing our transaction of interest.

Ethereum FAQs

What are ether coins and where do they come from?
The computers on the network “mine” Ether currency and other cryptocurrencies. They use mathematical computations to unlock currencies or fractions of coins. The brains behind Ethereum have chosen to switch to a “proof of stake” mechanism, which has been dubbed Ethereum 2.0.
Is Ethereum superior to Bitcoin?
Ethereum is capable of doing all of the functions that Bitcoin does, as well as many more. Ethereum is a decentralized computer platform that is ushering in a new era of automated financial applications to connect the global economy via a trustless and decentralized blockchain.
Is ether the same as Ethereum?
Ethereum and ether operate together, but they are not the same thing. Ethereum is the technology, and ether is the cryptocurrency itself.
Is there a cap on how much ether will be released?
There is no overall restriction to the number of ether units that may be released, however there is a yearly cap of 18 million. This assures that, even as processing power advances, there is always a continuous input of ether into the market.
Is Ethereum a good investment?
It is conditional. There is no single correct solution for anybody interested in investing in Ethereum. The most important thing to remember is that, like any investment, it is hazardous and should be treated as such before adding it to any portfolio.

Check all ethereum dapps listed on the dapp list.

Just Advice!

Whether you’re trading Ethereum, Bitcoin, or any other cryptocurrency company, it’s critical to recognize the dangers, which include the possibility of losing your whole investment. Given the volatility and other dangers associated with cryptocurrencies, investors should proceed with caution. Those seeking to get a taste of the action should not put more money at risk than they can afford to lose.