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Ethereum was launched in 2015, building on the foundations of Bitcoin

  • 2009: Introduction Bitcoin
  • 2012: Vitalik Buterin launches idea for Ethereum
  • 2013: Ethereum whitepaper published
  • 2014: Ethereum project announced
  • 2015: Ethereum project launched
  • 2016: Ethereum splits into Ethereum and Ethereum Classic

Ethereum timeline

Source: VanEck.

What is Ethereum?

Ethereum is a blockchain-based open source platform. It enables anybody to build and deploy Decentralized Applications (DApps).

  • Blockchain: A distributed database which maintains a continuously expanding list of records, called “blocks”. Online, decentralized, not controlled by a single entity
  • DAPPs: Applications running on a peer-to-peer network of computers

What is Ethereum?

Source: VanEck.

Ethereum allows smart contracts to run on the blockchain

  • Smart contracts: Contracts which self-execute when a number of preset conditions are met
  • They enable automatic transactions, without possibility of
    • Down time
    • Censorship
    • Fraud
    • Third-party interference

Ethereum allows smart contracts to run on the blockchain

Source: VanEck.

How does Ethereum work?

  • A developer creates a ‘decentralized application’ and publishes it on the blockchain
  • A client uses the application. In order to have transactions processed on the blockchain, the user pays with Ethereum
  • Miners verify the transactions and group them to form a block
  • Miners are in mutual competition for adding the block to the blockchain
  • For each successfully mined block, the miner is rewarded with Ethereum

How does Ethereum work?

Source: VanEck.

Note: For simplicity reasons, we refer both to the blockchain and the digital currency as Ethereum on this website. Officially, the currency is named Ether.