Ethereum - The First Smart Contract Platform
As Bitcoin showed us the possibilities of trustless interaction with its new Proof of Work Algorithm, the Ethereum Project devised additional layers of technology that could be used to deploy so-called ‘Smart Contracts’ on top of blockchain infrastructure.
These automated contracts take trustless to the next level - with programmed if-then statements, a smart contract can be as simple as a Peer2Peer exchange transaction (if both parties have placed money in escrow, then facilitate the transfer) or as complicated as a debt-backed security, it all depends on what the smart contract is programmed to do.
The Geometric logo of Ethereum implies building on top of blocks.
Ironically, Ethereum as a ‘trustless’ Smart Contract Platform showed the world very well how much ‘trust’ (often called due-diligence in finance) is really needed in a decentralized marketplace. The “ICO phenomenon” led by Ethereum was lampooned by many as a scammers paradise.
Origins
The man who originally conceived of Ethereum and helped found the Ethereum Foundation, Vitalik Buterin, did so in 2013 because of his belief in the need for a scripting language for application development on top of the blockchain infrastructure.
What started as a belief in usage layers built on top of blockchains turned into a massive phenomenon, with Ethereum becoming the go-to business best practice for raising money in cryptocurrencies. In January 2018, Ethereum reached a price peak of over $1400 per unit.
Crypto Winter
With the 2018 onset of ‘Crypto Winter’, the downward price pressure on Ethereum was felt especially harshly. As Ethereum-backed projects prepared to face scrutiny from the SEC and other government regulatory agencies they continued to convert their ethereum start-up funds to cash positions and hire lawyers.
Ethereum was on ice over the winter of 2018-2019.
While the U.S. agencies such as the SEC still require more clarity with respect to crypto-assets and associated projects, as the result of development pressure behind what is clearly very useful and innovative technology Ethereum has enjoyed a significant price appreciation from the depths of recent lows.
Ethereum Today
Since a December 2018 low of $83 USD, today Ethereum is enjoying a price above $200 USD.
Although some projects have fallen to the wayside after mismanagement or failure, many ERC-20 projects continue to work hard to develop cutting edge applications of blockchain technology. That said, there are a number of newer, faster, and less expensive competitors that seek to replace Ethereum as the Infrastructure of choice for many new and developing applications.
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