Ethereum history and roadmap; will it take over Bitcoin?
Ethereum is a platform for decentralized apps and distributed blockchain computing that supports smart contracts. Its native token, ether (ETH), is used mostly in the DeFi industry for paying transaction fees and as collateral for borrowing certain ERC-20 tokens.
The Merge, an enormous Ethereum update, has just been implemented. With the introduction of The Merge, Ethereum completed the transition from PoW to PoS, initiating the history of Ethereum 2.0 and progressing the cryptocurrency’s plan and development.
Even while some investors are starting to question the feasibility of the Merge, the most recent update has sparked optimism that Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, might soon be a serious competitor to Bitcoin (BTC).
If you could only own one cryptocurrency in your portfolio, which one would it be? There are a number of important reasons why Ethereum might be a better long-term investment right now. Importantly, the technology foundation that powers Ethereum will soon undergo a significant update. you can easily buy Ethereum from trustworthy cryptocurrency exchanges. we’d recommend to buy Ethereum online from Tabdeal.org
Ethereum history
From inception until token sale Vitalik Buterin created Ethereum in 2013 as a reaction to what he saw to be limitations in the functionality of Bitcoin’s scripting language, particularly its lack of Turing completeness. Later that year, Buterin released the first Ethereum white paper, outlining a distributed computing system for running smart contracts and creating decentralized apps (dApps).
Buterin and other early contributors formed the non-profit Ethereum Foundation in 2014. The Ethereum Foundation’s first task was to conduct the Ethereum crowd sale, which successfully raised 31,529 BTC (about $ 18 million at the time) in return for around 60 million ether.
The augmentation of initial coin offerings (ICOs) Frontier was the first live release of Ethereum’s mainnet, which occurred in July 2015. Shortly afterwards, Augur (REP) held the first Initial Coin Offering (ICO), in which the business sold ERC-20-compliant REP tokens based on Ethereum to help finance the project.
The DAO hack In April 2016, a decentralized venture capital firm known as The DAO held an ICO and raised around $150 million in ETH. The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) with 30 founding members was launched in March 2017 by a number of blockchain startups, academic institutions, and Fortune 500 businesses. As a consequence of customers using conflicting software versions, the blockchain briefly forked on August 27th, 2021.
The subsequent objective of Etherum was to re-decentralize the network, boost its credibility, and continue the Ethereum evolution project. 2.0. Ethereum 2.0 will be launched in 3 phases: Phase 0- Beacon Chain, Phase 1- The Merge, and Phase 2- Sharding.
The new Ethereum roadmap
3-phases of Etherum 2.00 include:
- The Beacon Chain
The Beacon Chain was formally introduced on December 1, 2020. This made Proof-of-Stake available inside the Ethereum ecosystem, although it does not affect how Ethereum is presently used. The Beacon Chain serves as the consensus layer and serves to organize the Ethereum network. In addition, it works as a prerequisite for further stages such as sharding.
- The Merge
The Beacon Chain, commonly known as the “consensus layer” and “Eth2,” is already operational. Existing Mainnet (i.e. the “execution layer”, originally known as “Eth1”) is independent from the consensus layer, which exists as its own chain. The Merge is the next step.
On the Beacon Chain, the present proof-of-work method on the execution layer will be replaced with the proof-of-stake consensus protocol. Consequently, this phase is known as “The Merge.” This is because the new consensus layer and the current execution layer will “merge.” This will also put an end to the mining of Ethereum.
With the Merge, Ethereum’s network will be far more energy efficient, greatly reducing its carbon footprint. It will also pave the way for sharding and other future Ethereum scalability improvements. On September 15 of 2022, the Ethereum Merge was successfully completed.
- Sharding
Sharding on Ethereum involves splitting the database horizontally to distribute the burden. Sharding will function in conjunction with layer 2 rollups. This distributes the strain of managing huge volumes of data required by rollups over the whole of the Ethereum network. The introduction of Ethereum Sharding is anticipated between 2023 and 2024.
Will ETH overtake Bitcoin?
Since news of the Merge spread, this question has been on the minds of almost every crypto fan. According to several industry analysts, this might occur in the near future. Medium-term, there is a significant likelihood of Ethereum (ETH) being the biggest cryptocurrency, with the Merge serving as a crucial stimulus.
The 2017-coined phrase ‘flippening’ refers to the likely time when the market capitalization of ETH surpasses that of BTC, becoming ETH the biggest cryptocurrency. Notable is that the ETH/BTC ratio must surpass 0.15 for flipping to occur (120 percent gain from the current rate). Given that BTC tends to beat ETH towards the end of the year, it is expected that BTC will recover momentum in the fourth quarter of 2022.
By default, Ethereum is superior to Bitcoin:
- Blockchain edge
Ethereum has made it possible for smart contracts and decentralized apps (dApps) to be deployed and executed without fraud, centralized control, or third-party intervention. The ETH Blockchain can verify a transaction in seconds, but the Bitcoin Blockchain takes minutes. After the Beacon Chain proof-of-stake method is integrated into the Ethereum Mainnet, proof-of-stake validators will be solely responsible for determining whether or not transactions are legitimate and recommending where new blocks should be placed.
- Environmental impact edge
It is estimated that Ethereum’s energy usage will decrease by 94.95% after the Merge. This will further establish ETH’s reputation as a green Blockchain platform.
- Supply edge
There is no maximum number of ETHs that can be mined over time. Ethereum will eventually be capable of processing 100,000 transactions per second.
Conclusion
We may guess on what value cryptocurrencies may have for investors in the future months and years (and many will), but the fact is that it is still a new and speculative investment with insufficient historical data to make accurate forecasts. Bitcoin has historically been worth more than Ether, but the cryptocurrency market has been unpredictable and presumably will stay so.
