Ethereum isn’t based on a clear monetary vision like Bitcoin, so its popularity and structural importance aren’t due to its cryptocurrency (ETH). Ether is just the tip of the iceberg. What proves to be the change-maker is the multi-billion dollar economy powered by the Ethereum ecosystem and its ability to adapt to its users’ needs.
Today, Ethereum is the most highly versatile decentralized computing platform. It has become the centerpiece of many use-cases across the crypto economy, including anything from cross-border payments, OTC derivative settlement and clearing to building autonomous governance structures and streamlining back-office processes.
Back in the day, Vitalik Buterin developed Ethereum intending to augment and improve Bitcoin and expand its capabilities. Over the years, it managed to achieve much more. Today, it is used to program, decentralize and trade virtually anything one can think of. Furthermore, it is one of the reasons (if not the main) why the crypto industry has captured the interest of Wall Street and progressively earned the trust of regulators all across the world.
What Has Ethereum Gave Us So Far
Currently, Ethereum powers between 60 to 70% of the crypto industry. So it is safe to say that without it, people wouldn’t be talking about decentralized finance (DeFi) today.
One of the key contributions of the Ethereum network is that it empowers the crypto industry to replicate and digitize conventional financial products like credit lines and interest-earning. Some of the most popular projects in that field include MakerDAO, Uniswap, Aave, Compound, and more.
Furthermore, Ethereum powers stable coins like USDC, Tether and PAX, which many retail crypto investors and institutions have exposure to.
The NFT craze also wouldn’t have been possible without Ethereum. Today, many of the highest-priced NFTs and markets like OpenSea are live because of the network.
The ecosystem also powers many other crypto-native products and services, including wallets, exchanges, trading venues, cryptocurrency newsletters, portfolio management apps, decentralized insurance platforms, KYC & identity solutions and many more. Without it, concepts like decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and smart contracts that eliminate potential points of failure in transactions and relationships between different parties wouldn’t have existed.
In a nutshell, over the years, Ethereum has established itself as the preferred environment for the majority of the project developers in the niche, allowing the crypto industry to grow and innovate. Furthermore, the variety of use-cases and the powerful network effect complement each other to progressively multiply the number of developers using the network.