Ethereum (ETH) is the second most popular cryptocurrency on the market, right after Bitcoin (BTC). ETH makes up a considerable chunk of the total crypto market capitalization. Together with Bitcoin, the two coins are responsible for more than 50% of the total market cap.
However, Ethereum is a totally different asset than Bitcoin because its use cases go beyond digital cash transactions. In fact, Ethereum provides users and developers with a wide range of services and development possibilities, which makes it an asset with huge growth potential, especially among retailers, business clients, individual investors, and developer teams.
What Is Ethereum?
Ethereum was launched back in 2015 by a team of experienced blockchain experts, headed by crypto visionary Vitalik Buterin, who played a key role in the creation of ETH. At the time of its launch, Ethereum was a revolutionary crypto because most existing digital currencies, such as Bitcoin and Litecoin (LTC), were mainly used for digital cash purposes. Ethereum, on the other hand, introduced a lot more functionality.
One of them is the use of smart contracts – a key innovation behind Ethereum. These contracts are a sort of self-executing piece of computer code built to execute complex operational procedures automatically within decentralized applications (dApps) and platforms built on the Ethereum blockchain. Smart contracts can be used for a wide variety of use-cases, such as crypto yield farming, exchanging assets, automating digital marketplaces, and more.
Decentralized apps, or dApps, are yet another key innovation introduced by Ethereum. Instead of using centralized platforms, developer teams got the opportunity to create independent, decentralized platforms built on the Ethereum network.
Since then, thousands of dApps have been launched on Ethereum, from decentralized exchange platforms, NFT marketplaces, sports betting apps, and social platforms all the way to innovative DeFi solutions for borrowing, lending, and staking assets. Also, Ethereum introduced the possibility of launching cryptocurrencies on top of the Ethereum blockchain with its ERC-20 token standard.
With smart contracts, decentralized apps, and ERC-20 tokens, Ethereum brought a whole new type of value to the crypto world, which is a key reason why ETH should be regarded as an asset with incredible growth potential.
Ethereum Price History and Future Perspectives
At the time of Ethereum’s launch back in 2015, Ether tokens were worth barely a single US dollar. ETH was worth around 0.3 USD when it was launched on the market, and in just 6 years, it managed to reach an all-time high of around 4,800 USD per coin in 2021.
This incredible price increase over a relatively short span of time is absolutely fantastic because it illustrates how profitable an investment in ETH actually is. Individuals who invested just 1,000 USD during its early days have made tremendous returns. When compared to the most profitable corporations, such as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) or Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Ethereum achieved much higher gains in the same 6-year period of time.
Due to recent market corrections, the price of ETH went down considerably, oscillating between 1,500 and 2,000 USD per coin, but this is still a tremendous percentage gain in total. Ethereum has been consistently setting new all-time highs and higher lows with each new bull-market cycle since its launch, which means that in total, an investment in ETH is a profitable venture for long-term investors.
Ethereum is scheduled to shift towards a new blockchain consensus mechanism in September 2022, which might prove to be a key factor for its future price increase. The shift to Ethereum 2.0 will cut ETH energy consumption by around 99% and make it much more environmentally-friendly than Bitcoin, which continues to consume enormous amounts of electricity.
The best way to actively monitor the price of Ethereum is by looking at the ETH/USD price chart (CCC: ETH/USD), where you can view the exact market fluctuation of ETH over time. As far as purchasing ETH, you can purchase Ethereum tokens on all major crypto exchanges, such as Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) and Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD).
A Few Ending Words…
Ethereum is a highly volatile digital asset like all other cryptocurrencies, however, unlike many less popular coins, Ethereum has a huge market cap and brings authentic value to the crypto market, which is a key reason for Ether’s explosive price growth potential.