NFTs have been rocking the world in the last few years, selling for millions and taking the world by storm. Ushering the demand and sales volume of NFTs is the blockchain network Ethereum. The most valuable NFTS on the network are Everydays: the First 5000 Days — $69.3 million by digital artist Beeple and CryptoPunk #7523 at $11.75 million by Larva Labs. Yet Ethereum was built for much more than NFTs, described as a “decentralized mining network and software development platform rolled into one.
during TechCrunch Disrupt London 2015 – Day 2 at Copper Box Arena on December 8, 2015 in London, England. ©John Phillips
Ethereum was conceived in 2013 by Vitaly Dmitriyevich “Vitalik” Buterin, a Russian-born Canadian programmer and writer. He stated that bitcoin needed a scripting language for application development. But when he failed to gain agreement from others. He presented developing a new platform with a more general scripting language. Ethereum was his answer to the problem.
Ethereum’s white paper was circulated, and interest grew in the new protocol in late 2013 and early 2014. Buterin announced Ethereum to the public at the North American Bitcoin Conference 2014 in Miami. In his opening speech, he described the general-purpose global computer operating on a decentralized, permissionless network with potential use cases for Ethereum ranging from insurance to decentralized exchanges to DAOs. Since its launch, Ethereum has gone from strength to strength, powering numerous decentralized applications (Dapps) and reinventing institutions, economics, and democracy in the internet age.
The Making of Ethereum and the Philosophy of Blockchains
By Vitalik Buterin
PROOF of STAKE is for anyone interested in the future of blockchain technology. Buterin essays provide crucial insights into Ethereum, decentralized computing, finance, DAOs, and consensus.
Ethereum has become the second most valuable cryptocurrency in less than a decade, opening the door to a new world of possibilities. Including NFT artworks, tokenization, virtual real estate in the metaverse and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
On September 15th, 2022, Ethereum finally transitioned to proof-of-stake consensus, officially deprecating proof-of-work and reducing energy consumption by an estimated 99.95%. The Ethereum merge is a complex union of Ethereum’s original execution layer (the Mainnet) that has existed since genesis with its new proof-of-stake consensus layer. A long-awaited and debated topic in the Ethereum community,
Complimenting Ethereum’s new consensus layer Vitalik has released a new book titled PROOF of STAKE (The Making of Ethereum and the Philosophy of Blockchains). In it, readers will have access to Buterin’s visionary thinking and innovative approach to Ethereum’s creation and the Philosophy of Blockchains through a series of essays as he delves into crucial matters from the value of blockchain technology to decentralized governance, crypto cities and more. Buterin navigates the future epochs of Ethereum’s assembly of revolutionaries and builders. PROOF of STAKE is for all Degen’s, Blockchain OG’s and anyone interested in the future of Ethereum, decentralized computing and finance.
PROOF of STAKE by Vitalk Buterin is out on September 29th 2022
29th September 2022 | £14.99 | Paperback
https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin
©2022 Vitalik Buterin
Len is a curator and a contributing writer at Art Plugged, a platform for contemporary art; he also engages in web development, design, and marketing.
