Assets, Ethereum

Is Ethereum Being Burned?

The Ethereum blockchain is 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.

The Ethereum network went live on July 30th, 2015 with 11.9 million ether pre-allocated to its crowd sale participants.

Since then, Ethereum has grown tremendously in popularity and market cap. As of November 2017, Ethereum has the second largest market cap after Bitcoin, and is predicted by some to eventually overtake Bitcoin as the most widely used cryptocurrency.

One unique aspect of Ethereum is its use of “gas” to drive the network. Gas is used to pay for computations on the network, and is paid for in ether.

NOTE: WARNING: Is Ethereum Being Burned? should not be taken as financial advice. Investing in Ethereum involves a high degree of risk and may not be suitable for everyone. You should always do your own research and understand the risks before investing in any cryptocurrency, including Ethereum. Investing in Ethereum can result in the loss of all or part of your investment, so please take caution when considering investing in Ethereum.

The more complex the computation, the more gas it requires. Miners are rewarded with ether for each successful block they mine, and can also receive gas as a transaction fee for each transaction they include in a block.

The total supply of ether is capped at 18 million per year (this number could change in the future). This means that while the absolute issuance is fixed, relative inflation decreases every year.

In fact, over time, the issuance will tend towards zero relative inflation.

Ethereum’s use of gas has led some to speculate that it may eventually be burned as a way to drive down the supply of ether and increase its price. While this is possible, it’s important to note that there are no plans to do this currently and it would be very difficult to coordinate such a burn given the decentralized nature of Ethereum.

In addition, burning ether would likely have negative impacts on the network and its applications which could offset any price gains. For now, it seems unlikely that Ethereum will be burned as a way to increase its price but it remains a possibility in the future.

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