On July 30, 2025, Ethereum (ETH) celebrated the tenth anniversary of its mainnet launch.
Listed here are some occasions that formed the second largest blockchain into what it has grow to be.
Ethereum (ETH) whitepaper launch: November 2013
Launched by Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum (ETH) whitepaper outlined key instructions of Ethereum (ETH) growth and its international position as a world laptop, the primary decentralized computation platform for software program functions.
Ethereum (ETH) ICO and mainnet launch: July 2014-July 2015
Within the then-largest ICO, Ethereum (ETH) secured about $18 million. ETH tokens have been distributed on the ratio of 1 BTC to 2,000 ETH. As such, Ethereum’s (ETH) ICO worth was $0.311.
The DAO hack and Ethereum/Ethereum Basic fork: June-July 2016
After hackers drained the wallets of The DAO autonomous VC group, one group of builders agreed to separate the chain to mitigate the consequences of the hack, whereas others defended the “code is legislation” precept of blockchain immutability. The primary group gained, whereas the second determined to stick with the unique blockchain, now generally known as Etheruem Basic (ETC).
Byzantium hardfork: October 2017
Ethereum’s (ETH) Byzantium hardfork launched the zk-SNARKS mechanism to Ethereum (ETH), unlocking alternatives for personal transactions and optimized knowledge logistics.
Problem bomb changes: September 2015-June 2022
Whereas utilizing a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus, Ethereum (ETH) leveraged mining as a foundation for including new blocks. Ultimately, the problem of mining surged, which made mining unprofitability nearer step-by-step. Ethereum (ETH) builders manually postponed this milestone in numerous hardforks over seven years.
Constantinople hardfork: February 2019
Constantinople hardfork included a block reward discount from three ETH to 2 ETH, decreasing inflation.
Key EIPs included EIP-1052 (environment friendly sensible contract verification) and EIP-1283 (fuel price enhancements for SSTORE operations). Consequently, Ethereum grew to become extra developer-friendly, cost-effective and achieved extra optimized knowledge logistics.
EIP 1559 activation: August 2021
Activated inside London hardfork, EIP 1559 improve launched a dynamic charge mannequin to Ethereum (ETH). In a post-London Ethereum (ETH), customers needed to pay primary charges and miner ideas. The final element relied on what number of transactions have been truly included on this or that block. Additionally, after each block, Ethereum (ETH) began destroying base charges, which defend it from deflation.
The Merge: September 2022
The Merge was Ethereum’s (ETH) hotly anticipated transition from proof of labor (PoW) to proof of stake (PoS), accomplished on Sept. 15, 2022, at block 15,537,393. It mixed Ethereum’s (ETH) authentic execution layer (mainnet) with the Beacon Chain, which had been operating staking structure since Dec. 1, 2020. This marked the tip of Ethereum (ETH) mining and the beginning of a extra energy-efficient consensus mannequin.
Cancun-Deneb hardfork: March 2024
The Cancun-Deneb improve (additionally referred to as Dencun) was activated on March 13, 2024, at block 19,078,888. It was one of many first upgrades that individually affected the execution layer (Cancun) and consensus layer (Deneb). Dencun’s most anticipated function was EIP-4844, also called Proto-Danksharding, which launched a brand new transaction sort referred to as “blobs.”
Prague-Electra hardfork: July 2025
Activated on Could 7, 2025, Prague-Electra (or Pectra) hardfork was among the many most formidable modifications in Ethereum’s (ETH) design post-Merge. It included 11 EIPs centered on performance, safety, operability and cost-efficiency for Ethereum (ETH), and its second-layer options. Its most important modifications paved the way in which to elevating the utmost validator stability to 2,048 ETH and for blurring the road between sensible contracts and on-chain accounts in Ethereum (ETH). Externally owned accounts (truly, on-chain wallets) have been outfitted with numerous capabilities that solely sensible contracts had beforehand.
Wrapping up: What’s subsequent?
In 2025-2026, Ethereum (ETH) will endure a Fulu-Osaka (Fusaka) hardfork and Gloas-Amsterdam (Glamsterdam) to scale back block instances, reduce transaction prices and streamline validator operations.