Introduction
Ethereum is a blockchain platform that supports smart contracts and dapps. It’s similar to the Bitcoin blockchain, but it does much more. The Ethereum blockchain is powered by ether, which can be mined or purchased on exchanges. There are lots of projects being built on Ethereum today that use ether as their coinage—and potentially others that don’t even use cryptocurrency! This guide will help you understand all things Ethereum so you can get started with your own project or join an existing one.
The Ethereum blockchain is similar to the Bitcoin blockchain, but it does much more.
Ethereum 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.
- Ethereum can be used to codify, decentralize, secure and trade just about anything: voting, domain names, financial exchanges, crowdfunding and the internet of things.
- Why does this matter? The possibilities are staggering. Ethereum will lead to economic empowerment on a global scale; it has the potential to redefine our ideas of ownership.
Ethereum is powered by ether.
Ethereum is a blockchain platform that can run smart contracts, apps and websites. Ether (ETH) is the currency of Ethereum, which is required to use these applications on the network. Ether powers the Ethereum network and acts as fuel for computation.
If you’re new to cryptocurrencies, it’s important to understand that ETH isn’t just another asset like gold or real estate—it’s an actual currency used to pay for services rendered by computers across the world. Ether may not be listed at your local bank, but it still has value:
- It can be used as a payment method online;
- It represents ownership of digital assets and businesses; and
- You can buy things with it!
There’s a lot going on with Ethereum above and beyond ether and Ethereum transactions.
Ethereum is a platform that allows developers to build decentralized applications (DApps) and smart contracts. It can also be used to establish trustless agreements between two parties. Think of it as a global computer that works without a central authority or middleman.
The Ethereum blockchain is used by several exciting projects such as Augur and Golem, both of which are exploring how they can use the technology to help us create new systems for prediction markets and computing power-sharing respectively. This means that anything you can imagine using the internet for, there’s probably an Ethereum project trying to do it better!
Ether isn’t exactly anonymous.
Ethereum does not offer complete anonymity. While blockchain transactions can be pseudonymous, the Ethereum blockchain itself is public and transparent. Transactions are recorded on the blockchain, which you can view as an immutable ledger of transactions that have ever happened on the network in its entirety. In fact, anyone with access to an internet connection and some knowledge about how to use it could potentially look up all your past transactions if they wanted to do so. This is by design: unlike Bitcoin (which uses pseudonyms), Ethereum’s smart contracts ensure that all parties involved in a transaction are known beforehand; therefore there is no need for anonymity at all.
The main reason why Ethereum isn’t exactly anonymous has to do with decentralization and distribution; since one participant cannot control another participant’s actions or data without their permission, they must also be aware of what information they’re sharing with others as well as how this information may affect them later down the line—both during negotiations between parties involved in specific deals and post-deal when using smart contracts within industries like supply chain management where data integrity needs protecting from third-party interference
It’s hard to mine ether profitably.
If you’ve ever tried to mine ether, you know how difficult it is. If you haven’t, I’ll explain: Ethereum mining is expensive. That’s because the hardware required to mine ether is extremely expensive and energy-intensive, meaning that anyone who wants to be an active participant in the network must pay for all of their own equipment.
Additionally, mining for ether requires immense computational power because the network was designed with a built-in difficulty bomb that increases its difficulty over time as more miners join and more transactions are processed within its system. As such, these miners are constantly competing against each other (and even themselves) for rewards from solving complex mathematical puzzles required for mining blocks on this public ledger called blockchain technology. The first miner who solves these puzzles gets rewarded by receiving a block reward consisting of newly minted ether tokens plus transaction fees paid by users making transactions on top of this “block” that contains their transaction data; after which they can then sell those newly minted tokens in exchange for fiat currency or other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or litecoin.”
Did you know that Ethereum has a plan to change all that?
Did you know that Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap?
Did you know that Ethereum is the first blockchain platform to allow the creation of smart contracts?
Did you know that Ethereum is a decentralized platform for applications that run exactly as programmed without any chance of fraud, censorship or third-party interference?
Conclusion
If you’re new to Ethereum, this is a great place to start. We hope that our brief guide has been helpful and you now have a better understanding of what it is and how it works. Let us know in the comments if there are any other topics related to Ethereum that you would like us to cover in our future posts!
