Ethereum 10th Anniversary: The Top Ten Key Contributions to the encryption Industry

Since its release, Ethereum has had a profound impact on the cryptocurrency industry, particularly in areas such as smart contracts, the ERC-20 standard, EVM, Layer-2 protocols, DAO governance, as well as Decentralized Finance (DeFi), ICOs, NFTs, meme coins, and ETFs. This article comprehensively reviews the top ten key contributions that Ethereum has made to the cryptocurrency industry over the past decade.

Ethereum's Tenth Anniversary: Ten Strategic Innovations Brought to the Crypto Industry

Since Ethereum was first launched by Vitalik Buterin ten years ago, smart contracts have been a major highlight of its blockchain. Although Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency and also supports smart contracts, Satoshi Nakamoto's core goal was a decentralized payment system. Ethereum, on the other hand, introduced Solidity, a programming language specifically designed for smart contracts, making the execution of smart contracts more flexible and widespread.

Smart Contracts: The Core Highlight of Ethereum

To this day, Ethereum's smart contracts remain one of the most influential features of its blockchain. Although we cannot accurately count the existing number of ETH smart contracts, the explosive growth of the number of independent addresses on Ethereum fully reflects the popularity of smart contracts.

(Ethereum independent address Source: Etherscan)

Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) Standard: Accelerating the Adoption of Smart Contracts

The EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) standard further promotes the development of smart contracts. The EVM is responsible for the workings of smart contracts, transaction processing, and monitoring the global ETH ecosystem, among other things. This standard not only aids Ethereum's global users but also provides the infrastructure for the rise of Decentralized Finance (DeFi).

ERC-20 Standard: The Revolution of Token Minting

The ERC-20 standard of Ethereum is one of its most critical contributions. Before the emergence of the ERC-20 standard, the process of creating tokens on the blockchain was very fragmented and inconsistent. The introduction of ERC-20 has standardized the creation of tokens, ensuring the homogeneity and interoperability of assets.

Nowadays, stablecoins like Tether (USDT) adopt Ethereum's ERC-20 standard, which also demonstrates the far-reaching impact of this standard in the encryption industry.

Layer-2 protocol: Solving scalability issues

With Ethereum's support for Layer-2 protocols, the scalability issues of blockchain have been effectively addressed. Through these protocols, developers can build scalable solutions on top of Ethereum, especially in terms of transaction speed and cost control. Today, although Bitcoin also has Layer-2 protocols, Ethereum is undoubtedly the first blockchain to focus on this area.

The ICO Boom and the Birth of DeFi

The ERC-20 standard facilitated the explosion of the ICO boom at the end of the 2010s. Protocols like ChainLink (LINK) and Basic Attention Token (BAT) issued their own tokens using the ERC-20 standard, which have now become leaders in the industry. Ethereum's smart contracts and decentralized exchanges laid the foundation for the birth of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), driving the decentralized transformation of global financial infrastructure.

DAO Governance: Accelerating Financial Democratization

The governance model of Ethereum's DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) provides technical support for the democratization of finance on a global scale. It allows the community to participate in decision-making in a trustless manner, thereby promoting the decentralization of financial infrastructure.

The Prosperity of NFTs and Emoji Coins

The decentralized finance community and smart contracts of Ethereum provide the foundation for the prosperity of NFTs (non-fungible tokens). In 2021, NFTs became a global focus, with many innovative artworks, collectibles, and digital assets achieving decentralized transactions through Ethereum smart contracts.

Although Dogecoin is one of the earliest meme coins, Shiba Inu on Ethereum has injected new life into the field, showcasing Ethereum's influence in the meme coin sector.

The Rise of ETH ETF

Although Bitcoin's first spot ETF to receive regulatory approval in the United States has garnered the most attention, Ethereum's ETF closely follows and quickly gains favor among investors. The approval of the ETH ETF signifies the regulators' acceptance of more altcoin ETF products, further promoting the market development of Ethereum.

Summary

In the past decade, Ethereum has not only been a technical complement to Bitcoin but also a transformer of the encryption industry. Through innovative technologies such as smart contracts, ERC-20, EVM, and Layer-2 protocols, Ethereum has driven the development of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), NFTs, meme coins, and many other emerging fields. With the continuous maturation of the Ethereum ecosystem and the growth of global adoption, it will still be an important pillar of the encryption industry in the next decade.