Happy 10th Anniversary, Ethereum!
On this glorious day, July 30, 2025, we celebrate a decade of unparalleled innovation and resilience as Ethereum marks its 10th birthday!
Ethereum ignited the blockchain revolution, forever transforming the digital landscape.
From smart contracts to NFTs, from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake - here are key milestones from a legendary decade:
1/ 2015 - The Beginning.
On July 30, Ethereum mainnet goes live. On this day, a “genesis block” was generated, which has the number 0.
Smart contracts debut, opening the door to programmable money and decentralized apps.
2/ 2016 - A Crucial Split.
For the first time, the Ethereum community makes a collective choice to rewrite the chain’s history.
A hard fork is implemented, creating two networks: Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC).
This decision showed that Ethereum’s future could be shaped by its community, through open discussion and onchain action.
3/ 2017 - ICO Wave.
Ethereum blockchain becomes the launchpad for a new funding model: Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
Projects raise billions. Ethereum proves its potential as the economic engine of Web3.
4/ 2018 - Enter NFTs.
It’s the first time digital collectibles have gone mainstream. Ethereum gives birth to a new asset class: NFTs.
The world starts to see that tokens can represent more than just financial value, they can embody culture, creativity.
5/ 2019 - Constantinople Upgrade. DeFi Rise.
Ethereum ships Constantinople, a major step forward.
It optimizes gas usage, reduces certain operation costs, and lays technical groundwork for bigger changes ahead, including the transition to Ethereum 2.0.
Meanwhile, the dawn of DeFi begins to shine, with TVL surpassing 650 million.
6/ 2020 - The Beacon Chain.
The Beacon Chain goes live, marking the official start of Ethereum’s journey to Proof-of-Stake.
It runs in parallel with the mainnet, preparing for the ultimate transition.
Phase 0 of the Merge is complete.
7/ 2021 - London & ETH ATH.
The London upgrade with EIP-1559 goes live, introducing fee burn and changing ETH’s monetary policy.
ETH hits All-time highs.
8/ 2022 - The Merge.
The Merge swaps Proof-of-Work for Proof-of-Stake, reducing energy use by ~99.95%.
It’s one of the most ambitious upgrades in crypto history - and it works well, also it marked the first time a live, functioning blockchain network successfully transitioned from PoW to PoS.
9/ 2023 - The Shanghai Upgrade.
This hard fork enables stakers to withdraw their ETH.
It’s the final piece of the Merge. Staking becomes liquid, secure, and flexible. And it opened the door to new developments in Ethereum’s future.
10/ 2024 - Dencun Upgrade.
Dencun introduces proto-danksharding, a major breakthrough for scaling.
This initiative introduces the blobs, which are large data bundles that increase the capacity for storing and processing data on the Ethereum network. With them, L2 transactions become much cheaper.
11/2025 - Pectra.
Pectra included 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals, making it one of the most significant updates to the network.
It upgraded everything from increased validator stake limits to flexible staking withdrawals and streamlined smart contract deployment, all contributing to network efficiency and security.
12/ Thank you for everything, Ethereum!
For experiments that changed the world.
For showing what’s possible when people build in the open.
You’ve come a long way, and you're still evolving, one block at a time.
Where will we be in 2035? What do you think guys?
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