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Ever since Ethereum launched in July 2015 it has been hugely popular for investors and cryptocurrency enthusiasts. In truth, even before the crypto was introduced to the market, interest in the project had been high.
In November 2013 the Russian-Canadian programmer Vitalik Buterin published a white paper on Ethereum, setting out his vision for a programming language that could deliver extraordinary functionality to the blockchain beyond mere currency transactions.
Earlier that year he had travelled to Israel and worked with global investing and trading platform eToro to develop Coloured Coins, an open-source banking infrastructure for the future of digital money. It was during this trip that the youngster – who was introduced to Bitcoin, when aged 17, by his father in 2011 – firmed up his ambition to invent Ethereum.
Ethereum, or the ‘Ethereum Virtual Machine’ – which managed to raise almost $20 million in July and August 2014 – was built as a decentralised computer network on top of which software developers could program any platform, and the network is fuelled by ‘Ether’ (or ETH). For many in the cryptocurrency world, the launch of Ethereum was the most exciting development since Bitcoin, the founding crypto, was introduced in 2009.
It did not take long for Ether to be established as the second-biggest in terms of market capitalisation. Ethereum is only behind Bitcoin, the founding crypto that was launched, in that regard. When Ether was introduced, in July 2015, it was valued at $2.8 per token. By March of the following year it had hit $10, and as transactions on the Ethereum blockchain skyrocketed a raft of top organisations begin backing the crypto.
The United Nations, Toyota, Deloitte, Samsung, and many others sought to take advantage of its enormously powerful shared global infrastructure. Before long its price reached $300, and Ether’s value peaked at $1,315 in January 2018.
There are many similarities between Ether and Bitcoin. First, they are both blockchain-based cryptocurrencies and can be mined by users around the world. There are some key differences, however. While the annual supply of Ether is limited to 18 million, Ethereum could theoretically continue to introduce new currency and make its supply unlimited. Conversely, Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million – that mark is due to be reached in the year 2140.
Another big difference is the processing speed; Bitcoin transactions take around 10 minutes, whereas an Ether transaction takes only 15 seconds.
While Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder and CEO of Polychain Capital, has predicted that “Ethereum’s price could surpass that of Bitcoin by the end of 2018” and Monkey Capital’s Daniel Mark Harrison reckons it will “likely be valued at over $100,000 by 2042” others are more cautious. Luis Cuende, co-founder of Ethereum-powered company Aragon, says: “Ethereum’s price will hit $1,000 by mid-2019.”
Ethereum, which hit a high of $1,315 per coin in January 2018, is one of a number of top cryptos available to trade and/or buy outright on global trading and investment platform eToro.
Their motto is “Cryptos Needn’t Be Cryptic” and the team has produced a useful short education video to help investors seeking more information about Ethereum.
