What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is a network of interconnected computers that execute, enforce and validate programs in a decentralized manner without requiring any memory, server, CPU power, or ther computing function, as it is all provided by thousands of ethereum computers scattered all over the world.
Ethereum lets anyone build and use decentralized applications that run on blockchain technology. Like Bitcoin, no one controls or owns it – it is an open-source project built by many people around the world. But unlike the Bitcoin protocol, Ethereum was designed to be adaptable and flexible. It is easy to create new applications on the Ethereum platform.
Ether.
Ethereum’s token is called Ether, shortened to ETH. This is a cryptocurrency that can be traded for other cryptocurrencies or other sovereign currencies, just like BTC. Its current value is around US$ 337.67 per ETH token. Token ownership is tracked on the Ethereum blockchain, just like BTC ownership is tracked on Bitcoin’s blockchain, though at a technical level they track them in slightly different ways.
The team behind Ethereum.
Vitalik Buterin (CEO) – Through Bitcoin in 2011, Vitalik Buterin discovered crypto currencies and blockchain technologies. In 2014, he dropped out of university to work on Ethereum full time. He invented Etherium in 2013.
Gavin Wood (CTO) – In 2014, Wood met Vitalik and got to know about Ethereum.
Anthony DI Iorio- He is one of the many Ethereum co-founders. Di Iorio is also actively involved in the Jaxx etherium wallet.
Jeffrey Wilcke-Another Ethereum founder, he is also the lead developer of the go-Ethereum project.
Charles Hoskinson- A well-known name in the world of cryptocurrency, as he was involved in Ethereum from the early days.
Ethereum Wallets.
· Ethereum Wallet. Ethereum Wallet is a desktop Ethereum wallet. Ethereum Wallet has integrated with ShapeShift, which makes it easy to accept Bitcoin and other altcoin payments directly to your Ethereum Wallet as ether.
· Geth. Geth is a command line interface for using, sending, receiving, and creating contracts with Ethereum. Geth is a good option for programmers, but not a good option for users in search of an easy-to-use wallet.
· Jaxx. Jaxx by Decentral is one of the most convenient ways to use and store Ethers. The software is multi-platform, having binaries for all the desktop’s operating systems (Mac, Linux, and Windows), as well as mobile apps in Android and the Apple’s AppStore.
· Mist-This wallet is also integrated with ShapeShift, which allows you to deposit your first ethers using Bitcoins (the coins are automatically converted for you at a convenient rate).
Exchanges for Ether.
Ether is available on exchanges such as Kraken, Gdax, Bitfinex, Bittrex, Chbtc, Btc-e and Poloniex. They charge similarly low fees to exchange. To get started make an account and send your Bitcoin to your wallet associated with your account. Then, simply use these exchanges like you would any online stock trading platform to buy your Ether.
History and timeline.
Inception.
The idea of Ethereum was born in late 2013. Shortly thereafter, Vitalik Buterin published the Ethereum white paper, describing in detail the rationale and technical design of Ethereum's protocol and architecture. In January of 2014 , Vitalik formally announced Ethereum during The North American Bitcoin Conference held in Miami, Florida, USA.
Ethereum ICO.
The Ethereum ICO was held from the 20th of July, 2014 to the 2nd of September, 2014 (42 days). 31.5k BTC ($18.4 million at the time) were collected during the ICO period making it the 2nd most successful ICO held and the 6th highest-funded crowd funding project so far.
DEVCON-1 Expo.
In November 2015 DEVCON-1 was held as the second expo for Ethereum developers. The event brought together developers of Ethereum from all over the globe, to discuss a broad scope of topics concerning Ethereum technology. The event proved very successful, and had long-lasting effects which improved Ethereum greatly, helping to make it more scalable, secure, and reliable. The event helped to excite developers as they continued towards launching the platform. Among those present were representatives of such huge companies as IBM, UBS, and Microsoft, which marked a new beginning for Ethereum, when it went on a global scale and became a major trend in the fintech industry.
Creation of DAO.
In May, 2016 Ethereum price took a major turn when thousands of people pumped $150 million into the biggest crowd funded project in history, called the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Ether, a currency that was trading at around $1 in January 2016 saw a 15-fold increase in six months. The DAO now accounts for almost 14% of the value of all Ether in circulation.
The DAO Attack.
On 18th June, a hacker managed to drain 3.6 million Ether from the DAO fund by exploiting a loop hole in smart contract terms. Following the incident, the price of Ethereum dropped to 13 USD from 20 USD. This left a mark on Ethereum’s once untainted reputation, even though they handled the hack decisively with a swift and clean hard fork that created ETH (Ethereum) and ETC (Ethereum Classic).
Ethereum Enterprise Alliance.
Ether is proving very popular with corporates. In fact, it’s so popular that the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance was announced a while back, driven by Microsoft, Intel and JPMorgan. This has added legitimacy to the cryptocurrency but also requires ether to be transferred and stored in order to access applications using Ethereum, according to Aurélien Menant, founder and CEO of Gatecoin, a blockchain assets exchange based in Hong Kong.
The alliance was formed in order to develop standards and technology to make it easier for companies to use Ethereum. It is expected to enhance the privacy, security, and scalability of Ethereum, making it better suited to business applications. JPMorgan is already working on implementing its own Ethereum-based system to facilitate the seamless transfer of funds between global JPMorgan branches.
Corporate support for the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) has ever since grown; 86 firms including State Street, Toyota, Merck, ING, Broadridge and Rabobank joined the collective.
The price history of Ether.
Ether's price has been substantially volatile since first becoming tradable in August of 2015. It saw steep growth in the first quarter of 2016 going from below USD 1 to above USD 10 per ether in March 2016. Ether then hit a peak in April at USD 21.50 before the DOA hack. This resulted in a crash that almost halved Ether's price within hours.
Despite the fallout from The DAO hack, Ethereum is moving forward and looking to a bright future. By providing a user-friendly platform that enables people to harness the power of block chain technology, Ethereum is speeding up the decentralization of the world economy. Decentralized applications have the potential to profoundly disrupt hundreds of industries including finance, real estate, insurance, academia, healthcare and the public sector amongst many others.
This year alone, Ethereum has rallied over 3000 percent, which could be due for a correction to the tune of 38 percent, according to analysts. On January 1, Ethereum was trading at just under $8 and has risen to a record high of $ 337.67.
Is Ethereum Still A Good Investment ?
In terms of timing, the low hanging fruit has already been plucked. It’s almost impossible to stake a significant position at the current price levels, no matter how bullish your long terms sentiments are. But even while the “easy” early-adopter money is gone, it’s total market capitalization is only around $23 billion. So you should shift towards a long term perspective, since it’s expected to command higher valuations should its potential be fulfilled.
References:
https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-for-beginners/what-is-ethereum
www.coindesk.com/information/what-is-ether-ethereum-cryptocurrency/
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/ethereum
https://blog.slock.it/the-history-of-the-dao-and-lessons-learned-d06740f8cfa5
https://themerkle.com/what-is-the-ethereum-enterprise-alliance/