Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of fraud or third party interference.
In 2014, Ethereum founders Vitalik Buterin, Gavin Wood and Jeffrey Wilcke began work on a next-generation blockchain that had the ambitions to implement a general, fully trustless smart contract platform.
The Ethereum whitepaper described a “next-generation smart contract and decentralized application platform” that would enable “users to create smart contracts and decentralized applications on their own terms”.
Ethereum was launched in 2015 with 72 million pre-mined coins. Its development was financed by an online crowdsale during July–August 2014. The system went live on 30 July 2015, with 11.
9 million coins “pre-mined” for the crowdsale. This accounts for approximately 13 percent of the total circulating supply.
The price of Ethereum has fluctuated wildly in its short history. At its launch in July 2015, the price of an Ethereum token (Ether) was just $0.43.
In the years following, the price of Ethereum would see a high of $1,422.47 in January 2018 before dropping by over 80% 9 months later.
At the time of writing, Ethereum is once again on the rise with a current price of $225.48 and a market cap of $24.
41 billion. So what is driving this latest price surge? Let’s take a look at some of the factors that could be influencing Ethereum’s price today.
One factor that could be driving Ethereum’s price is increasing interest from institutional investors. The cryptocurrency market has seen an influx of institutional money in recent months as investors look to gain exposure to digital assets.
This trend appears to be continuing in 2020, with investment firms such as Grayscale Investments and Galaxy Digital Ventures adding Ethereum to their portfolios. The addition of Ethereum by these institutional investors could help to drive up the price as they look to increase their exposure to the asset.
Another factor that could be influencing Ethereum’s price is the upcoming launch of ETH 2.0. ETH 2.0 is a major upgrade to the Ethereum network that is set to launch in 2020.
The upgrade will see Ethereum shift from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm to a proof-of-stake (PoS) algorithm, which is seen as more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. The upgrade is also expected to improve scalability issues on the network, which has been a major bottleneck for Ethereum in recent years. The launch of ETH 2.0 could help to drive up demand for Ethereum as users look to stake their tokens on the network and take advantage of its improved features and scalability.
Finally, another factor that could be driving Ethereum’s price is DeFi mania sweeping across the cryptocurrency market at the moment. Decentralized finance (DeFi) refers to financial applications built on top of blockchains that offer users alternatives to traditional financial products and services such as loans and exchanges.
DeFi protocols built on Ethereum have been incredibly popular in recent months, with users drawn to their low fees and high rates of return. This has led to an influx of users and capital into DeFi protocols built on Ethereum, which could help drive up demand for Ether tokens and push up prices in the process.
So those are some of the key factors that could be influencing Ethereum’s price today. With interest from institutional investors continuing to grow, DeFi protocols booming and ETH 2.0 around the corner, it seems like there are plenty of reasons for bullish investors to remain optimistic about Ethereum’s future prospects.