Bitcoin transcends the concept of Code is Law, while other blockchains like Ethereum adhere to it, meaning trust in code. The shift from trusting people to trusting code represents a revolution in trust subjectivity. The transition from trust with (people acting as intermediaries for arbitration, code acting as intermediaries for arbitration) to trust without (any minor changes by participants are arbitrated within this absence) is a super revolution. This is the self-adaptive decision-making arbitration mechanism of humanity imitating God, grounded in the absence.
Lux(λ) ｜光尘｜空灵｜GEB
Bitcoin: The Computational Reality Beyond Code - A Theory of Meta-Formal Systems
Introduction: The Deterministic Dilemma Emanating from Code
Since its inception, Bitcoin has been surrounded by a core puzzle: how is a unified, trustworthy "fact" (i.e., a global ledger) possible in a global network composed of distrustful, anonymous nodes? Traditional explanations often reduce this to a clever combination of cryptography, game theory, and economics. However, these explanations do not address a more fundamental question: how does a purely digital system find a final arbiter for the determinacy of its internal state that transcends the code itself?
Any closed formal system, whether mathematical axioms or computer programs, derives its truth from internal logical consistency. But Bitcoin must continuously face the uncertainties brought by the open physical world—network delays, information asymmetries, and the resulting "fork" problem, where multiple nodes generate valid blocks simultaneously. At this point, the rules within the system itself can no longer determine which is the "true" block. This paper aims to argue that Bitcoin's revolutionary nature lies in its transcendence of the closed nature of traditional formal systems, constructing a new paradigm we call **"Meta-Formal System"**. It anchors abstract mathematics to physical reality, creating a "Computational Reality" with evolutionary capabilities.
Theoretical Foundation: Turing's Triple Exploration of Computational Boundaries
To understand Bitcoin's hybrid architecture, we need not take a detour. Its core idea astonishingly aligns with the triple exploration of computational boundaries by Alan Turing, the father of computer science, throughout his academic career. This triple exploration provides us with a perfect analytical framework:
Turing Machine: It defines the boundary of the "computable" universe. Any process that can be clearly described and executed by an algorithm can be realized on a Turing machine. This is the computational engine of all formal systems, representing logical determinacy.
Oracle Turing Machine: This is a thought experiment designed by Turing to explore the "uncomputable" problems. When a Turing machine encounters a problem it cannot solve (such as the halting problem), it can ask an external "oracle" and instantly receive a "yes/no" answer. The source of the oracle's power is unknown, representing a form of non-formal judgment from outside the system.
Transfinite Ordinal Logic: In his doctoral thesis, Turing explored how to "approach" completeness by continuously adding new axioms to the system to overcome the limitations of Gödel's incompleteness theorem. This provides a blueprint for understanding how a system can accumulate over time, gradually constructing itself and addressing internal contradictions.
The overall architecture of Bitcoin is precisely the engineering realization of these three concepts. It is not a single Turing machine but a complex system based on a Turing machine, embedded with oracle mechanisms, and undergoing transfinite construction over time.
Deconstructing the Architecture: A Three-Layer Implementation of a Meta-Formal System
Bitcoin's "meta-formal" characteristics are specifically reflected in its three-layer collaborative structure.
First Layer: Internal Formality - A Deterministic Foundation Driven by Turing Machines
The underlying operations of Bitcoin are strictly formalized. Whether verifying a transaction's digital signature (based on the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm, ECDSA), executing simple instructions in transaction scripts (Script language), or checking whether a block header's hash is less than the target difficulty, these processes are deterministic, precisely describable, and verifiable by algorithms. Given the same input, any node globally will produce the exact same output. This constitutes the "syntax" of the Bitcoin system, its structurally reliable rigid framework, ensuring the uniformity and fairness of the rules.
Second Layer: External Determinacy - The Oracle Mechanism Solving the Consensus Problem
When the system faces the endogenous "undecidable problem" of forks, its formal framework encounters limits. If two blocks, A and B, both conforming to the "syntax," appear simultaneously, there is no axiom within the system that can indicate "A is superior to B" or "B is superior to A."
At this point, Bitcoin activates its oracle mechanism—Proof of Work (PoW) and the longest chain rule.
It no longer seeks logical answers from within the system but asks the physical world, this "oracle." The question is not "which block is logically superior?" but rather **"which block embodies a more difficult-to-fake physical cost (i.e., computational power and energy)?"**
Proof of Work (PoW) is the method of questioning the oracle, while the "longest chain" (in practice, the chain with the most accumulated work) is the answer provided by the oracle. This answer does not stem from logical deduction but from an "observation" of the external physical world. Nodes achieve consensus by simply choosing the chain that requires the most energy to construct, completing a consensus selection. This step is Bitcoin's "intuitive organ," granting the system a judgment that transcends its formal logic, anchoring the uncertainties of the digital world to the energy consumption of the physical world.
Third Layer: Temporal Evolution - Constructing Historical Reality with Transfinite Logic
Each consensus reached, each block confirmed, is not merely an isolated determination. It adds a new "ordinal" to Bitcoin's timeline. Block 0, Block 1, Block 2... This sequence continuously extends, forming an immutable history locked in both logic and time.
This process resonates with Turing's ideas of transfinite ordinal logic. The system resolves current inconsistencies (forks) through the oracle mechanism (longest chain selection), akin to adding a new axiom in a logical system to resolve a paradox, allowing the entire system to continue its construction. Ultimately, this continuously growing blockchain becomes more than just a ledger of transactions; it transforms into a "construct" that encompasses its entire evolutionary history, forged by mathematical determinacy and physical contingency.
This is what we refer to as **"Computational Reality"**. It has memory (an immutable history), metabolism (the generation of new blocks), and exerts real, measurable impacts on the physical world through its value. It represents a new existence, whose "reality" stems from its irreversible temporal construction and high physical replication costs.
Conclusion: A New Species Born Between Computation and Physics
The true revolutionary nature of Bitcoin is not the creation of a digital currency but the unintentional opening of a new system paradigm. As a "meta-formal system," it shows us how to construct a digital order that is both trustworthy and open:
Based on the computability of formal systems, ensuring the determinacy and fairness of rules.
Using the oracle mechanism of the physical world as a breakthrough to solve inherent judgment blind spots.
Accumulating trust and anchoring reality through the process of transfinite evolutionary historical construction.
Ultimately, Bitcoin becomes a system that can freely traverse the boundaries of Turing machines, bridging abstract mathematics and physical reality. It is half mathematics, half physics; half code, half consensus; half formal logic, half emergent order. Understanding Bitcoin means understanding the birth logic of this new "species" and providing profound insights from the digital world for our contemplation of more complex systems such as law, organization, and even life.
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Andrew Keys
My friends and I have been working on something… #ethereum @ethereum
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Ethereum Intern
I don't understand why anyone would choose not to use Ethereum, sounds like the obvious choice imo
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BWeys 📈
Things with utility & cash flow are going to keep doing well in the world.
Spotify would be the fourth largest coin in the world (3rd if taking out XRP).
Netflix would be 2nd, only behind BTC & 50% larger than ETH.
Things will simply send much higher than people believe right now.
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Ethereum price performance in USD
The current price of Ethereum is $2,947.67. Since 00:00 UTC, Ethereum has increased by +0.14%. It currently has a circulating supply of 120,715,200 ETH and a maximum supply of 120,715,200 ETH, giving it a fully diluted market cap of $355.89B. At present, Ethereum holds the 2 position in market cap rankings. The Ethereum/USD price is updated in real-time.
The rating provided is an aggregated rating collected by OKX from the sources provided and is for informational purpose only. OKX does not guarantee the quality or accuracy of the ratings. It is not intended to provide (i) investment advice or recommendation; (ii) an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or hold digital assets; or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Digital assets, including stablecoins and NFTs, involve a high degree of risk, can fluctuate greatly, and can even become worthless. The price and performance of the digital assets are not guaranteed and may change without notice. Your digital assets are not covered by insurance against potential losses. Historical returns are not indicative of future returns. OKX does not guarantee any return, repayment of principal or interest. OKX does not provide investment or asset recommendations. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. Please consult your legal/ tax/ investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances.
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Ethereum (ETH) is an open-source, decentralized blockchain network that builds on Bitcoin's blockchain innovation, with some significant differences and improvements. Its native coin, Ether, can be used for digital payments and functions as a software platform for creating and deploying immutable decentralized applications (DApps) or smart contracts.
Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, second only to Bitcoin. Ethereum changed the cryptocurrency industry by introducing smart contract functionality to blockchain networks. Smart contracts allow users and developers to access emerging industries like decentralized finance (DeFi).
Because of the seemingly limitless possibilities of blockchain technology and smart contract functionality, Ethereum has produced several multi-billion dollar industries. These include DeFi, play-to-earn crypto gaming, and the wildly popular non-fungible token (NFT) industry. Today, the Ethereum blockchain is home to over 2,900 different projects and has processed over $11 trillion in value.
Like stablecoins, including Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), Ethereum's native token, Ether, is used to pay transaction fees when completing transactions on the network. It's also a currency exchange for digital assets stored on the blockchain, like NFTs. Following the Ethereum Merge, ETH will be used to secure the network and produce new blocks.
What sets Ethereum apart?
The Ethereum network is designed to serve as a global computer that anyone can use. It aims to give users complete control of their digital assets and allow them to access tools and services traditionally controlled by centralized entities.
For example, on the Ethereum blockchain, anyone can provide digital assets as collateral and take out an instant loan. In the traditional finance world, this process would be governed by the jurisdiction of a centralized company. With Ethereum, every aspect of this function is handled entirely by smart contracts on the blockchain. This removes the requirement for partial intermediaries.
The blockchain can also make any program censorship-resistant, robust, and less vulnerable to fraud by running and offering it on a distributed network of worldwide public nodes.
In the spirit of decentralized ownership, anyone can submit governance proposals that they believe can improve Ethereum for the collective good of the project. After a proposal is submitted, holders of the Ether token can vote on its outcome. By doing so, the Ethereum community is responsible for guiding developments to the network.
How does ETH work?
When the Ethereum blockchain was initially launched in 2015, it employed a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus algorithm. In this model, new ETH tokens were created and distributed to miners as rewards for producing new blocks and securing the network.
This means that high-powered computational hardware installations, called mining rigs, compete against each other to solve complex equations in the mining process. The first miner to solve the equation earns the right to lead the production of new blocks on the network and is rewarded with new tokens as an incentive. This is also the same model employed by the Bitcoin network.
The Ethereum blockchain also has an account-based architecture. An Ethereum account is essentially an entity that holds an Ether balance and can initiate transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. There are two types of Ethereum accounts.
The first is "external accounts", which users control and manage through their private keys. The second is "contract accounts", known as smart contracts, and it's governed by code. Both these accounts can hold, receive, and send ETH and other Ethereum tokens and interact with smart contracts deployed on the blockchain.
External accounts can initiate transactions with other external accounts and smart contracts. The smart contracts kick in only when interacting with external accounts or other smart contracts. They can only respond by triggering code (involving multiple actions), transferring tokens, or even creating new smart contracts.
Ethereum's technology
Unlike Bitcoin, which uses a distributed ledger, Ethereum employs a distributed "state machine." Ethereum's "state" at any given point is a large data structure incorporating accounts and balances and the "machine's state" at that time.
It also encompasses the ability to host and execute many low-level machine code. This "state" keeps changing from block to block, and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) defines the rules for changing it.
The Ethereum network has a host of use cases, with the ability to create and deploy smart contracts being central to all of them. This functionality allows developers to produce various decentralized applications on the platform, including crypto wallets, decentralized exchanges (DEX), DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, play-to-earn games, and more.
Ethereum token standards
Ethereum’s token standards, like ERC-20 and ERC-721, have been extensively used to create fungible and non-fungible tokens, therefore contributing to various multi-billion-dollar projects. ERC-721 standard-based NFTs, in particular, pioneered the NFT industry, which had a global market cap of $75.89 billion as of May 2024.
ERC-1155 is a token standard on the Ethereum blockchain that allows for the creation of fungible (identical) and non-fungible (unique) tokens within the same contract. This makes it a more efficient and flexible solution for developers to create and manage multiple types of tokens simultaneously. Meanwhile, ERC-777 brought "Hooks" to the Ethereum network. Hooks is a function that bundles the action of sending tokens and notifying a contract into one message, improving the efficiency of smart contracts. ERC-777 is also backward-compatible with the ERC-20 standard, which helps extend the functionality of ERC-20.
Any time users transfer ETH or Ethereum-based tokens or interact with any application hosted on the platform, they must pay ETH as gas fees. In the future, ETH will also be used for validation purposes on the new Proof of Stake (PoS) Ethereum blockchain, with active validators required to stake 32 ETH to qualify for the job.
What's the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)?
Introduced in 2015, the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is the Ethereum blockchain's heart. EVM is the environment where all the Ethereum accounts and smart contracts reside. It's a computation engine — also known as a virtual machine — that functions like a decentralized computer housing millions of executable projects.
In other words, EVM makes up the bedrock of Ethereum's complete operating structure. As a single entity, EVM is simultaneously maintained by thousands of interconnected computers (nodes) running an Ethereum client.
What's the Ethereum Merge?
As Ethereum's demand grew, the network's core architecture also started showing signs of congestion, and the average gas fee per transaction rose significantly. Hence, one of the Ethereum blockchain's biggest challenges is its exorbitant gas fees at times of high network congestion. For example, in May 2021, the average cost for a basic transaction on the network was around $71.
Formerly known as Ethereum 2.0, the Ethereum Merge is a multi-year event that gradually moves the Ethereum blockchain from its PoW to the PoS consensus mechanism. While the transition will not instantly solve the high gas fees problem, it will make Ethereum a more environmentally friendly and efficient blockchain network.
In the PoW system, Ethereum miners compete with each other, using expensive computational resources, to add new blocks to the chain and earn ETH rewards in return. In the PoS model, however, they'll no longer need to mine the blocks.
Instead, they'll create and add new blocks when chosen to do so and validate others' blocks when not. To earn the right to become a validator, they must stake 32 ETH with the network. Furthermore, since there will be no competition between validators, they'll no longer require expensive and advanced hardware like mining rigs for the job.
Although the Ethereum team has been planning this transition since 2016, it initiated the process with its PoS Beacon Chain launch on December 1, 2020.
This marked phase zero of a three-phase process that will see Ethereum transitioning from a singular PoW chain to a multi-chain PoS network. Below are these three phases and how they intend to transform Ethereum.
Phase 0 (Beacon Chain)
This involved the launch of Beacon Chain, a PoS blockchain running parallel to the original PoW Ethereum mainnet. In addition, it laid the groundwork for future upgrades to Ethereum. As of writing, over 410,000 validators on Beacon Chain have staked over 13 million.
Phase 1 (The Merge)
Executed on September 15, 2022, The Merge involved merging the Beacon Chain with the existing Ethereum blockchain, entirely replacing the latter's PoW model with the former's PoS system. Post Merge, the original Ethereum blockchain has become the new network's "execution" layer, while the Beacon Chain has become its "Consensus" layer.
Phase 2 (Sharding)
Sharding was supposed to be the second and final phase of the Merge. The plan was to spread the network's load across 64 new shard chains. The current PoW Ethereum chain would have become one of the 64 shards, simplifying the process of running a mining node by reducing the data load. However, this plan was dropped from the roadmap due to the positive impact Layer-2 rollups have had on the network's scalability.
Instead, Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-4844 — also known as Proto-Danksharding — was introduced on March 13, 2024 as part of the Dencun Upgrade. One of Ethereum's most significant developments to date, the Dencun Upgrade was designed to reduce transaction costs and improve overall data throughput on the network. Proto-Danksharding supports the scalability fixes brought by Ethereum's various Layer-2 solutions, making it an adequate replacement for the shard chains originally proposed for phase two of the Ethereum Merge. Meanwhile, the Dencun Upgrade also brought 'blobs' to the network as an additional solution to Ethereum's scalability limitations. Blobs are large data structures that allow transactions to be settled at Layer-2, streamlining the network's operations and supporting future scalability improvements.
ETH price and tokenomics
In July 2014, the Ethereum Foundation launched the ETH initial coin offering (ICO). During this public sale event, roughly 60 million ETH was distributed to buyers at an initial exchange rate of 2000 ETH to 1 BTC. At the time, the Ethereum price was at approximately $0.31. Ether tokens were distributed to buyers at the genesis block of the Ethereum network.
When the Ethereum mainnet was launched, the initial supply of ETH tokens was approximately 72 million. While most of these tokens were allocated to early supporters, 16.73 percent of the supply was distributed to the Ethereum Foundation.
Since the genesis block of the Ethereum mainnet, roughly 48 million ETH has been added to the supply via token generation. New ETH tokens are generated and distributed to miners via block rewards, making Ethereum an inflationary cryptocurrency. While the EIP-1559 London Hard Fork update introduced some deflationary mechanics, these currently don't entirely offset the Ethereum inflation.
Emissions of Ethereum block rewards have been steadily declining over time. When the network was launched, new Ether was produced at 5 ETH per block. These rewards were given to miners as an incentive for securing the network and validating transactions. In October 2017, as part of the EIP-649 proposal, this emission rate was reduced to 3 ETH per block.
The ETH price reached its all time high of $4,878.26 on November 10, 2021, at the tail end of a bull market. 2022 saw the arrival of a protracted bear market for crypto, which lead the Ethereum price from its all time high down as low as $1,049.23 before the end of June 2022. The Ethreum price recovered but remained volatile into and throughout 2023, until the closing months of the year brought positive sentiment and a fresh bull market, helped by the arrival of a Spot Bitcoin ETF in January 2024. Following the Spot Bitcoin ETF's approval, there was much speculation around the possibility of an imminent Spot Ethereum ETF, which helped fuel an ETH price rise to $3,890 in early March 2024.
About the Spot Ethereum ETF
The possibility of a fully approved spot Ethereum ETF took a major step forward on May 23, 2024 when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved issuers' 19b-4 filings. This development followed a remarkable about-turn in the spot ETH ETF story, as many commentators were bearish on the possibility of approval during 2024. The green light on the 19b-4 filings is by no means the final hurdle. Next, the SEC must approve issuers' S-1 filings before funds can be openly offered to interested traders. It's unclear when this final approval will occur, but many expect the process to take weeks or months.
Interest around a potentially sudden Spot ETH ETF approval brought additional volatility to ETH prices. Before the May 23 decision, the Ethereum price had already rallied by 25% in a 24-hour period during May 2024.
About the founders
The idea of Ethereum was initially described through a whitepaper written by Vitalik Buterin in late 2013, when he was just 19 years old. Before conceptualizing Ethereum, Buterin was an experienced programmer and developer who'd previously founded the Bitcoin Magazine news site.
Buterin believed that blockchain technology could be leveraged to build decentralized protocols and applications free from the control of central bodies. Buterin was an avid player of World of Warcraft, a popular online game. After its creators removed his favorite spell from the game, Vitalik decided that no single entity should have complete control over an application, thus forming the conception of the Ethereum blockchain.
Ethereum was officially announced in Miami, in January 2014, at the North American Bitcoin Conference. A group of eight individuals co-founded the project.
Russian-Canadian Vitalik Buterin was the most significant contributor and remained so. Gavin Wood of Polkadot (DOT) was the first Chief Technology Officer of the Ethereum Foundation. He coded Ethereum's first technical implementation in C++ programming language and created Solidity, the de facto programming language for creating Ethereum smart contracts.
Today, Solidity is considered the essential programming language for Ethereum applications and enjoys widespread usage on other blockchains that operate an EVM. In addition, Wood found his own alternative blockchain network Polkadot, which aims to remedy some of Ethereum's issues.
Another notable co-founder who is known for building other Layer 1 blockchains is Charles Hoskinson. Hoskinson eventually left the Ethereum project due to differences of opinion on the project's direction. However, he founded IOHK with Jeremy Wood, another early Ethereum colleague, and went on to develop the Cardano (ADA) blockchain.
Number of posts mentioning a token in the last 24h. This can help gauge the level of interest surrounding this token.
Contributors
Number of individuals posting about a token in the last 24h. A higher number of contributors can suggest improved token performance.
Interactions
Sum of socially-driven online engagement in the last 24h, such as likes, comments, and reposts. High engagement levels can indicate strong interest in a token.
Sentiment
Percentage score reflecting post sentiment in the last 24h. A high percentage score correlates with positive sentiment and can indicate improved market performance.
Volume rank
Volume refers to post volume in the last 24h. A higher volume ranking reflects a token’s favored position relative to other tokens.
In the last 24 hours, there have been 167K new posts about Ethereum, driven by 64K contributors, and total online engagement reached 53M social interactions. The sentiment score for Ethereum currently stands at 82%. Compared to all cryptocurrencies, post volume for Ethereum currently ranks at 89. Keep an eye on changes to social metrics as they can be key indicators of the influence and reach of Ethereum.
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Ethereum FAQ
How much is 1 Ethereum worth today?
Currently, one Ethereum is worth $2,947.67. For answers and insight into Ethereum's price action, you're in the right place. Explore the latest Ethereum charts and trade responsibly with OKX.
What is cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, are digital assets that operate on a public ledger called blockchains. Learn more about coins and tokens offered on OKX and their different attributes, which includes live prices and real-time charts.
When was cryptocurrency invented?
Thanks to the 2008 financial crisis, interest in decentralized finance boomed. Bitcoin offered a novel solution by being a secure digital asset on a decentralized network. Since then, many other tokens such as Ethereum have been created as well.
Watch this video to learn about what happens when you move your money to a crypto exchange.
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