Ethereum is among the most exciting ever-existing bits of technology, garnered support from some of the best and brightest entrepreneurs of the tech and finance industries.
Today, the market capitalization of Ether (ETH) is worth $44 billion. It is larger than Ford Motor Company and the popular app Snapchat!
Is it dying? No, it's just getting started. And this is why.
"Boy Genius"
Unlike the unknown Bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, whose identity remains a mystery to this day, Vitalik Buterin is one of the best-known names in the world of cryptocurrency. He came up with the idea for a Bitcoin-like network that could support smart contracts and dApp before he`d turned twenty, gathering dozens of people behind the idea. Now it’s hard to imagine what the crypto space would look like wasn’t it for Vitalik Buterin.
Buterin's persona has inspired cult-like worship among developers. The Ethereum developer community is estimated to be the largest in the world, at about 200,000. A development framework for Ethereum —Truffle — surpassed 3.3M+ downloads. Github, which draws open-source developers from around the world, lists 14,000 repositories and 220,000 commits concerning Ethereum. MetaMask — a browser extension allowing users to run dApps without running an entire Ethereum node — has reached over 1 million users.
2020 is a Year of #DeFi
By far, one of the most significant things that dramatically increased the demand for Ethereum is the massive growth of decentralized finance, also called DeFi.
In short, "Defi" is the use of Ethereum blockchain technologies to replace all "intermediaries" with program codes in order to maximize the efficiency of financial services and minimize costs.
The total value locked in DeFi protocols has risen to $6.92 billion with popular protocols, like Compound, Maker, Aave, Synthetic, and Curve Finance, substantially increasing in users.
More and more people are acknowledging the advantages of DeFi protocols and exploring ways to benefit from them. There are DeFi Dapps allowing you to create stable coins, lend out money, and earn interest on your crypto, take out a loan, exchange assets, go long or short assets, etc.
One word, two digits. Ethereum 2.0
Despite the coronavirus outbreak, the Ethereum team managed to make significant progress in solving the scalability issue, with the launch of the Ethereum 2.0 testnet on August 4. The developers expect that once the upgrade is complete (scheduled to be made in three stages), the Ethereum network will become faster, cheaper and more scalable without compromising decentralization and network flexibility.
But there is a more advanced and modern thing to appear. It is staking. To receive cryptocurrency with an average annual return of around 5%, you will be enough to install a wallet and put at least 32 ETH. Too expensive? Look at the percent interest offered by banks.
Staking is believed to motivate people to buy Ethereum in order to earn money. All of this should support Ether's rate.
Adoption
The progress of Ethereum 2.0 laid the foundation for the world's largest corporations started using the Ethereum blockchain. Samsung revealed that its phone's development included a built-in Ethereum wallet, also releasing a software kit for Ethereum developers. Another significant partnership involved internet browser Opera, which had launched an Ethereum-supported Android wallet and a built-in Ethereum wallet for iOS users.
Meanwhile, Microsoft continued its involvement with the Ethereum ecosystem. The company released the Azure Blockchain Development Kit to support Ethereum development. It launched Azure Blockchain Tokens, a service that lets enterprises issue their tokens on Ethereum.
Probably now you are wondering if Ethereum is a good investment.
Honestly, it is only you to decide, but if your answer is positive, one of the best choices to do it is through OKEx. OKEx is currently the largest Ether futures exchange by open inter
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