Ethereum Turns 10: A Decade of Blockchain Revolution

Over the past ten years, Ethereum has transformed the blockchain landscape.

From its initial coin offering to becoming the second-largest crypto by market cap, Ethereum has continuously evolved, implementing major upgrades like the shift to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and Layer 2 scaling solutions and cementing its position as a cornerstone of the Web3 ecosystem despite the emergence of several alternatives over the years.

Ethereum’s 10-Year Journey

Reflecting on its origins, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake pointed out that Ethereum’s initial coin offering (ICO) began on July 22, 2014, with the price being 2,000 ETH per sale unit per BTC in a fully permissionless environment devoid of venture capital influence or vesting periods.

This rate only applied for the first 14 days. After that, the price began to decrease gradually, with each subsequent day offering fewer ETH per unit. By the end of the sale period on September 2, 2014, the rate had dropped to 1337.077 ETH per unit.

Fast forward to today, and the value dynamic has shifted dramatically. Now, 1 BTC buys less than 20 ETH. Drake pointed out that few assets have matched Bitcoin’s performance over the past decade, and even fewer have surpassed it by a factor of 100.

Ethereum has evolved into a crucial component of the blockchain ecosystem. So far, 4.3 million ETH has been burned for gas fees since the introduction of EIP-1559, and many more are expected to be burned with the introduction of blob transactions.

Additionally, Ethereum’s staking mechanism now provides $100 billion in economic security, ten times more than Bitcoin, and supports DeFi and restaking, vastly improving the Internet of Value’s economic bandwidth.

Ethereum’s Institutional Journey Begins

All eyes are on the spot Ether ETF, which, according to Drake, further signified Ethereum’s growing recognition as a digital commodity, marking the beginning of the crypto asset’s institutional journey.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) will debut five spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on July 23, pending final regulatory approval, as announced by the agency last week. This follows the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval on May 23, which greenlighted the listing of several spot Ether ETFs.

The five Ethereum ETFs scheduled for launch are the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF, Fidelity Ethereum Fund, Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF, VanEck Ethereum ETF, and Franklin Ethereum ETF.

To attract investors and secure a market position, most of the ETH ETF issuers are planning to offer temporary fee reductions or waivers as the funds start trading.