Ethereum: A Comprehensive Timeline of Blockchain 2.0

History of Ethereum

When Bitcoin was launched in 2009, the cryptocurrency community focused on creating a new financial paradigm centered on autonomy, security, and decentralization. As previously explained, they aimed to address the problems of the centralized traditional financial industry, highlighted by the financial crisis, by redistributing financial control to individuals. However, as more people began to understand how Bitcoin works, they started exploring other functionalities. Some tried to add more features to the Bitcoin blockchain while others sought to create variations of decentralized networks. The problem was; most developers, regardless of their approach, stuck to the codebase and architectural composition of the Bitcoin network and did not use a Turing-complete programming language that could implement dynamic functions like Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto did. (If you are not a developer, it is natural not to know what dynamic function implementation and Turing-complete programming language are. Simply put, it is a technology that allows machines to handle complex calculations and logical problems through algorithms and computational concepts. Additionally, the early Turing machines that processed complex calculations and logical problems are considered the primitive computers of today.)

The attempts to improve Bitcoin mentioned above did not gain much market attention, but a 19 year old Russian teenager named Vitalik Buterin devised a way to circumvent the limitations of the Bitcoin protocol, leading to the creation of Ethereum.

Ethereum founder

Vitalik Buterin first heard about Bitcoin from his father in 2011. At the time, he was 17 years old and dismissed the idea because Bitcoin had no intrinsic value (a sentiment many might still hold today). However, after encountering it a second time, Vitalik began to understand the nature of this currency and how it could achieve equal opportunity through decentralization. He also recognized the risks of centralized services through his experience of having his game skills nerfed in his favorite game, World of Warcraft. In 2013, he met other talented individuals attempting to expand the functionality of the Bitcoin blockchain and concluded that the best way to overcome the limitations of the Bitcoin protocol was to build a new network using a general-purpose programming language. Less than a month later, in November 2013, he published the Ethereum white paper, "A Next Generation Smart Contract and Decentralization Platform." Inspired by this white paper, he joined the Ethereum Foundation as one of the founding team members, of which there are currently eight recognized co-founders.

Mihai Alisie
Mihai became a member of the Ethereum founding team based on his previous partnership with Vitalik Buterin and his expertise in economic cybernetics. He played a crucial role in establishing the Ethereum Foundation in Switzerland. He helped set up the legal framework for the Ether pre-sale (ICO) and subsequently rose to the position of Vice President of the Ethereum Foundation. In 2015, Alisie started his own Ethereum-based project, Akasha.

Anthony Di Iorio
Anthony was one of the financial backers of the Ethereum startup. After the team decided to adopt non-profit business principles, he chose a more passive role and briefly served as the Chief Digital Officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange. He then founded Decentral, the company that developed the Jaxx digital wallet.

Amir Chetrit
Amir established a working relationship with Vitalik Buterin while working on Colored Coins. In December 2013, Buterin invited Chetrit to join the founding team. However, during a co-founder meeting in June 2014, other team members and Ethereum developers questioned Chetrit's lack of contribution. In this meeting, Chetrit agreed to step back from active involvement in Ethereum development while retaining his co-founder status.

Charles Hoskinson
Charles emerged as the CEO of the Ethereum startup in December 2013. However, after the team decided to promote a non-profit structure, he left the foundation and went on to create his own programmable blockchain ecosystem called Cardano (ADA).

Gavin Wood
Gavin was one of the key contributors during the early development stages of Ethereum. He earned co-founder status through his programming contributions. He created the first Ethereum testnet and published the project's Yellow Paper, which is the technical specification of the original white paper presented by Vitalik Buterin. Wood also proposed Solidity, the primary programming language of the ecosystem. Currently, Wood is focused on the Web3 Foundation and its flagship project, Polkadot.

Jeffrey Wilcke
Like Gavin Wood, Jeffrey became a co-founder purely through his programming contributions. He was working on Mastercoin when he discovered Ethereum. He independently started writing the Google Go version of the platform. Currently, he is focused on his own game development studio, Grid Games.

Joseph Lubin
Joseph joined the Ethereum team after gaining extensive experience in various fields. He then founded ConsenSys, a for-profit company that acts as an incubator for blockchain startups aiming to leverage the Ethereum ecosystem. He has also influenced several high-profile partnerships that Ethereum has secured over the years.

Key Milestones and Updates

Since the release of the white paper in 2013, Ethereum has undergone various updates to add new features over time. Alongside the mainnet launch in 2015, a roadmap for the Ethereum network update process was also announced. Here are the major updates and Ethereum price:

Stage 1: Frontier (2015)

- 2014: Ether (ETH), the currency used on the Ethereum network, was sold for 42 days. Until the release of the first block (Genesis Block), Ether purchased with Bitcoin could not be cashed out or sent to other addresses. The exchange rate was 1 Bitcoin for 2,000 Ether, resulting in the sale of 1,337 ETH and raising $18 million.

- 2015: The Ethereum network was launched, introducing the concept of gas (GAS). The first block, the Genesis Block, was created, starting the mainnet.

Stage 2: Homestead (2016)

- Homestead: Included several protocol changes and network upgrades, enabling Ethereum to perform additional network upgrades.

- DAO Fork: The DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization, executed through smart contracts) was attacked by hackers, resulting in the loss of 3.6 million Ether. The problematic smart contract was moved to a new contract based on a community vote. Some community members (miners) refused the hard fork (creating a new blockchain independent of the existing one) because they believed the hack was not due to a smart contract protocol flaw, leading to the creation of Ethereum Classic (ETC).

- Tangerine Whistle: The first response to DoS attacks (malicious attempts to affect the availability and legitimate use of systems like websites or applications) on the network in September/October 2016. It also addressed urgent issues related to the network's operational code.

- Spurious Dragon: The second update in response to DoS attacks on the network. It adjusted opcodes (commands translated from human-made programs to machine language) to prevent network attacks and added blockchain attack prevention features.

Stage 3: Metropolis (2017–2021)

- Byzantium: Adjusted mining rewards from 5 ETH to 3 ETH and improved smart contract functionality.

- Constantinople: Adjusted mining rewards from 3 ETH to 2 ETH and ensured the blockchain would not stop before implementing Proof-of-Stake.

- Istanbul: Added support for Layer 2 scaling and new features to smart contracts.

- Beacon Chain: Enabled staking of 32 ETH to become a validator on the Beacon Chain.

Stage 4: Serenity (2022–Ongoing)

- The Merge: Transitioned Ethereum's mining method from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

- Cancun: Updates to improve Ethereum scalability and reduce costs related to Layer 2 solutions.

Although the content might seem too technical, there's one key point to remember: the Ethereum Foundation releases new standards agreed upon by the community in line with updates, called ERC (Ethereum Request for Comment). Standards like ERC20 and ERC721, which you might already be familiar with, were established through these updates.

Use Cases

As indicated by the title of white paper, written by Vitalik Buterin, "A Next Generation Smart Contract and Decentralized Platform," Ethereum allows anyone to program smart contracts, register source code on the network, and create applications. While many people currently use applications on iOS or Android that require approval from Google or Apple for store registration, Ethereum’s decentralized nature allows developers to create and register various applications without such restrictions. Although using unapproved applications may pose security issues (e.g., the 2016 DAO fork), subsequent research has led to a more secure environment and ecosystem for developing and auditing smart contracts, making the system much safer now.

ICO

ICO (Initial Coin Offering) is a method of raising funds by issuing coins similar with issuing shares. While many companies now actively issue coins and convert them to cash on exchanges, this concept was unfamiliar in the past. Unlike the complex steps required to list on a stock exchange, an ICO only requires implementing a smart contract program that issues coins and registering it on the Ethereum network. Anyone can register a program for an ICO and attract investors through a white paper, website, and community promotion. ICO programs registered on Ethereum (smart contracts) are immutable, serving as a contract between investors and founders. Investors can send Ether to the founder's ICO smart contract account to secure a share of the initially issued coins.

DeFi

Decentralized Finance (DeFi), now a widely known topic, can also be implemented through smart contracts on Ethereum. This allows functions traditionally handled by banks, such as loans, deposits, interest, and transactions, to be executed on the Ethereum network. Smart contracts guarantee these operations will be carried out as written, enabling the entire process of moving funds, providing collateral, and reclaiming it to be managed in a decentralized manner.

DEX (Decentralized Exchange)

When first encountering cryptocurrencies, many people download exchange apps to purchase and store them, where centralized exchanges manage their assets. However, smart contracts can take on this role. A service that implements these purchasing functions is called a Decentralized Exchange (DEX), with Uniswap being the most famous. In essence, you can use decentralized services to exchange your coins for other coins.

NFT

One of the major keywords of 2021, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs, ERC721), can also be issued on Ethereum. Unlike Bitcoin, where any unit is identical to another of the same amount, each NFT is a unique token. In 2021, the hype around NFTs settled, and various industries began developing new businesses using NFTs. Exploiting the unique properties of NFTs, their applications are expanding beyond investment tools to identity verification, authenticity checks, memberships, and event tickets.

Conclusion

Recently, Bitcoin, approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has been named as "digital gold." This nickname reflects its limited usage but recognized scarcity and value by many. On the other hand, Ethereum is often called "digital oil," signifying its role in driving the blockchain world forward like oil fueled the industrial revolution. The successful implementation of Ethereum 2.0 is expected to establish it as a scalable global computing platform by improving network scalability, reducing transaction costs, and enhancing overall network efficiency. Future upgrades and community-led development are anticipated to shape the future of digital innovation. As a key player in the Ethereum ecosystem, wallet provider D’CENT plans to continue reflecting ongoing updates and making blockchain services easier and safer for users who still find them challenging.