History of Ethereum
Ethereum, proposed by Vitalik Buterin in late 2013, was developed to address Bitcoin's limitations concerning smart contracts. Buterin, a programmer and cryptocurrency enthusiast, aimed to create a platform where developers could build decentralized applications (dApps) using blockchain technology.
In 2014, Ethereum's initial coin offering (ICO) successfully raised over $18 million, attracting global attention. The Ethereum network officially launched on July 30, 2015, with its first version, called "Frontier." This marked the beginning of a new era in blockchain technology.
In June 2016, a significant event occurred when a decentralized venture capital fund called "The DAO" was hacked, leading to a loss of $50 million worth of Ether. In response, the Ethereum community decided to implement a hard fork to reverse the hack's effects, resulting in two separate chains: Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC).
Since then, Ethereum has continued to evolve, introducing upgrades like Metropolis and Serenity. Today, Ethereum serves as the foundation for thousands of dApps and has established itself as a major player in the cryptocurrency market, often compared to Bitcoin but distinguished by its focus on programmability.