Assets, Ethereum

Is Ethereum a Zero Layer?

Ethereum is much more than a digital currency. It’s a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of fraud or third party interference.

These apps run on a custom built blockchain, an enormously powerful shared global infrastructure that can move value around and represent the ownership of property. This enables developers to create markets, store registries of debts or promises, move funds in accordance with instructions given long in the past (like a will or a futures contract) and many other things that have not been invented yet, all without a middleman or counterparty risk.

NOTE: WARNING: Ethereum is not a zero-layer protocol. Ethereum is a distributed public blockchain network with its own native cryptocurrency, Ether. It is a second-layer protocol that can be used to build decentralized applications and create smart contracts. Ethereum also enables users to create and use decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). As such, it should not be confused with a zero-layer protocol.

The project was bootstrapped via an ether presale in August 2014 by fans all around the world. It is developed by the Ethereum Foundation, a Swiss non-profit, with contributions from great minds across the globe.

Ethereum is often described as a digital currency but here’s something important to remember: Ethereum is much more than that. While it is true that ether can be used as a form of payment, Ethereum is actually a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of fraud or third party interference.

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