People & Lifestyle
What Is Ethereum And What Does Its Bright Future Mean For Bitcoin?
Cryptocurrencies have been in the news a lot lately – with good reason. A single Bitcoin is now worth over $11,000 USD, and Ethereum has grown to become the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. But what exactly is Ethereum, and what does its bright future mean for Bitcoin? Let’s take a closer look.
What Is Ethereum?
Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of fraud or third party interference. These applications run on a custom built blockchain, an enormously powerful shared global infrastructure that can move value around and represent ownership of property. This enables developers to create markets, store registries of debts or promises, move funds in accordance with instructions given long in the past (like a will or a futures contract) and many other things that have not been invented yet, all without a middle man or counterparty risk.
Ethereum Community Fund (ECF) is a non-profit organization that supports the development of the Ethereum ecosystem. The ECF is backed by some of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency space including ShapeShift, ConsenSys, and BlockApps, among others. The ECF provides grants to individuals and organizations who are working on projects that will benefit the Ethereum ecosystem.
What Does Ethereum’s Bright Future Mean For Bitcoin?
Bitcoin and Ethereum are often compared because they are both cryptocurrencies with huge growth potential. However, they are different in many ways. Perhaps most importantly, Bitcoin is a currency while Ethereum is a platform that can be used to build decentralized applications.
Ethereum’s rise in popularity means that more people are aware of cryptocurrencies and their potential use cases. This can only be good for Bitcoin as it increases exposure and adoption of all cryptocurrencies. In addition, as projects built on Ethereum succeed, it will only serve to increase confidence in smart contracts and blockchain technology – which again can only be good for Bitcoin since it uses similar technology. Here if we talk about Ethereum Merge, it is considering a software update by Ethereum which is named Ethereum Merge by Ethereum Foundation.
Why is Ethereum growing in popularity ?
Ethereum is growing in popularity because it has a lot of potential uses. Some of the most exciting applications of Ethereum include:
- Decentralized Applications (dApps): dApps are applications that run on a decentralized network instead of a centralized server. This makes them more secure and less prone to censorship. Ethereum is the ideal platform for dApps because its blockchain can handle large volumes of transactions.
- Smart Contracts: Smart contracts are contracts that are executed automatically when certain conditions are met. They are trustless, meaning that neither party needs to trust the other in order for the contract to be executed. Ethereum’s smart contract technology is one of its most valuable assets.
- Token Creation: Ethereum allows developers to create their own tokens using its blockchain technology. These tokens can be used to represent assets or membership in a particular community. Some of the most popular tokens on Ethereum include ERC20 and ERC721 tokens.
- File Storage: Ethereum can be used to store files on the blockchain. This makes it a secure and censorship-resistant way to store data.
- Voting: Ethereum can be used to power secure online voting systems.
Conclusion:
Ethereum is quickly becoming one of the hottest topics in the cryptocurrency world. Its rise in popularity means more exposure for all cryptocurrencies – including Bitcoin. While they are different in many ways, the success of Ethereum can only mean good things for Bitcoin in terms of exposure and adoption.
