I am one day late with this. Today is 2021.07.31.
On 2015.07.30, the first version of the Ethereum blockchain network was released, called "Frontier".
In the six years that have passed, Ethereum has gone through a lot as it has entered its infancy. It has survived a near-catastrophic cyber attack, undergone continuous hard forks, and in the meantime its market capitalisation has grown to $278 billion USD. This made it the second largest cryptocurrency in the world after Bitcoin.
Image source: https://thumbor.forbes.com.
This sixth anniversary will most likely be the last birthday in the history of Ethereum 1.0. Ethereum 2.0 will be released in the first half of 2022, and will be a much faster, freer and more energy-efficient network. The implementation of this upgrade is essential to ensure that the network can sustain its success in the years to come.
DeFi
Image source: https://adaascapital.com.
Last summer, DeFi applications exploded onto the crypto market at a huge speed, allowing people to easily lend, borrow and trade in cryptos. Today, more than $60 billion USD worth of Ethereum-based DeFi protocol is pledged. It's worth remembering that this time last year, that was only $4 billion USD. So the DeFi segment has seen an amazing growth in just one year.
However, this huge demand has also caused major problems for the network, as the Ethereum blockchain was originally designed to process 15 transactions in one second. However, the continuous use of smart contracts has put a huge strain on the network, causing it to slow down a lot and pushing transaction fees skywards.
NFT
Image source: https://static.news.bitcoin.com.
However, this has not prevented NFT products from flourishing on the Ethereum blockchain. This is the year the segment really took off, after three years of CryptoKitties laying the foundations for the success of NFT products. NFT's sales volume reached $2.5 billion USD in the first half of the year, much of which was channelled through the Ethereum blockchain.
DAO
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DAO (Decentralized autonomous organizations) is also experiencing a second boom. It allows people to participate in the decision-making of various protocols, business organisations or any other non-profit organisations using tokens. Very interesting that back in 2016, the very first DAO, The DAO, almost undermined Ethereum's ambitions. It collected more than 12.7 million Ethers, worth more than $30 billion today, but soon came under heavy attack.
Millions of Ethers were stolen from them in the hacker attack. As a result, the blockchain was split into two camps. Ethereum Classic was born, which had to endure the consequences of the attack, and Ethereum was left, which celebrated its sixth birthday yesterday.
Of the two, Ethereum has evolved enormously and has expanded its user base. Its current exchange rate is $2400 USD, six times more than a year ago.
After the proof-of-stake implementation of Ethereum 2.0, the blockchain will open new doors and continue its world-changing activities.