Ethereum

Originally proposed by Vitalik Buterin in late 2013, Ethereum was formally launched on 30 July 2015 and has evolved significantly over the years. Originally built on a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus echanism similar to Bitcoin, Ethereum transitioned to a Proof of Stake (PoS) model on 15 September, 2022, an upgrade commonly known as “The Merge”. Unlike Bitcoin’s transaction-focused architecture, Ethereum includes a more versatile scripting language that allows for the development of decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. Although this makes the platform more flexible, it also introduces complexities such as varying gas fees and slower transaction speeds. Additionally, Turingcomplete smart contracts written in languages such as Solidity may lead to security vulnerabilities, as evidenced by the numerous exploits over the years. The transition to PoS marked a major shift in Ethereum’s consensus algorithm, yet it did not significantly alter transaction speeds or gas fees for end users. In this new PoS system, Ethereum organizes its blocks into epochs, each lasting about 6.4 minutes. This is roughly similar to the finality time under the former PoW mechanism, which stood at about 7 minutes for 35 confirmations by convention. However, the PoS model introduces an additional layer of security, enhancing the network’s overall robustness. In terms of scalability, Ethereum currently supports a throughput of about 15 transactions per second (TPS) at its base layer. However, layer 2 solutions are designed to enhance the scalability of Ethereum-based applications, offering higherthroughput and increasing the network’s overall transaction capacity. Much like Bitcoin, Ethereum has inspired a multitude of forks and updates aiming to enhance its functionality and performance, although its core features and purpose–enabling smart contracts and dApps–have largely remained unchanged.