Assets, Ethereum

How Does Ethereum Work for Beginners?

Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of fraud or third party interference.

Ethereum is how the Internet was supposed to work.

Ethereum was crowdfunded during August 2014 by fans all around the world. It is developed and maintained by ETHDEV with contributions from great minds across the globe.

The Ethereum protocol could be thought of as a computer that anyone can upload programs to and everyone can see the results of. The computer runs on a network of nodes, each node running an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and executing the EVM’s code. The EVM is like a giant world computer that anyone can upload programs to.

These programs, called smart contracts, run exactly as programmed on the EVM and can’t be modified or censored by any third party. This is possible because Ethereum has something called gas: every transaction on the Ethereum network must include a small amount of gas, which goes to the miners who power the network to ensure your transaction is processed.

NOTE: WARNING: Ethereum is a complex subject and can be difficult to understand for beginners. It is highly recommended that you research the topic thoroughly before attempting to use it. Additionally, you should only use Ethereum if you are comfortable with the associated risks, as there are potential security issues and other risks associated with using Ethereum.

The result is a platform for creating decentralized applications, or dapps, that have all the advantages of being on the blockchain (security, immutability, trustlessness) without any of the disadvantages (complexity, high fees).

The most popular dapp built on Ethereum is Cryptokitties, a game where users can breed and trade digital cats. Cryptokitties showed the world that blockchain games are possible and demonstrated the potential of Ethereum for building decentralized applications.

The sky’s the limit for what dapps can be built on Ethereum. Some other popular dapps include Augur, a decentralized prediction market; MakerDAO, a platform for creating stablecoins; and Gnosis, a platform for building prediction markets.

There are also many dapps being built in areas like identity management, supply chain tracing, and energy trading.

Ethereum is still in its early stages and there are many things being built on top of it that will make it even more powerful in the future. The potential applications of Ethereum are vast and developers are just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible.

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