What is Ethereum?

Author: Elle Miller

Ethereum is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world and is used by thousands of people around the world. It is one of the biggest cryptocurrencies built on blockchain technology. The biggest difference it has from Bitcoin is its open-source programmable capability.

It is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud, or third-party interference. In many ways, it’s a blockchain-based virtual machine that allows developers to write programs in an extremely concise way.

Ethereum's goal is to provide a universal computing platform for developers. This has resulted in a community that uses the technology of smart contracts to make innovative projects we see every day or DApps (decentralized applications). This makes it possible to write applications that are decentralized and run on multiple computers around the world, instead of just one computer like Bitcoin can do. This opens up a lot of possibilities for developers who want to create applications that run on Ethereum but don't need to be decentralized like Bitcoin itself. Think of Amazon as a platform for sellers to create different storefronts and businesses using its ecosystem.

Since launching, it has been gaining popularity among developers and investors alike due to its ability to scale up to thousands of transactions per second while remaining decentralized. Over the years, the different projects that were empowered by the technology of Ethereum have gotten bigger and better.

Here are a couple of examples:

• Uniswap allows people to buy, sell and trade their ETH tokens with other cryptocurrencies while earning more tokens from it.
• Crypto Kitties is a digitized game that allows users to breed and own one-of-a-kind cats that cannot be destroyed or duplicated.
• Digital art, called non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has been disrupting the creative space in the last couple of years.

…and much more.

One day, we will see Ethereum innovations change the way we transact with the rest of the world. It will no longer be just about trading and making money, but there are many projects geared towards revolutionizing art, recordkeeping, voting systems, healthcare, and much more. All of these are powered by Ethereum technology.

Aside from investing in ETH, there are hundreds of new projects being introduced through this technology every single day. Our team of researchers is dedicated to scouring the crypto market, testing and vetting these projects to determine what is worth investing in. Want to get our best picks that have the potential to explode in the next few years? Reach out to us at decryptingcrypto.com.