Ethereum: From Blockchain 2.0 to the Merge, a Journey of Innovation and Evolution

Ethereum: From Blockchain 2.0 to the Merge, a Journey of Innovation and EvolutionIn November 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published the "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" white paper on Halloween, marking the beginning of the digital currency blockchain era

Ethereum: From Blockchain 2.0 to the Merge, a Journey of Innovation and Evolution

In November 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published the "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" white paper on Halloween, marking the beginning of the digital currency blockchain era. Sixteen years later, despite Nakamoto's identity remaining a mystery, the blockchain world has evolved and expanded at a rapid pace. Bitcoin's emergence solved the long-standing problem of reconciling digital and scarcity, creating the digital currency people have always dreamed of. However, in the era of Blockchain 1.0, developers had to download Bitcoin source code from GitHub and modify the underlying code to create applications, resulting in inefficiencies and chaos.

The emergence of Ethereum ushered in the era of Blockchain 2.0, solidifying its undisputed leadership in the public blockchain space. By encapsulating underlying technologies, Ethereum provides developers with an easy-to-use and powerful platform, simplifying development and significantly accelerating the adoption of blockchain technology.

Ethereum: A Scalable Application Platform

Simply put, the Ethereum platform is like a massive Lego system, providing various modules that allow developers to build various applications like building with Legos. Compared to traditional blockchain technology, Ethereum's advantages include:

• Programmability: Ethereum supports smart contracts, allowing developers to write code to automatically execute on the blockchain without human intervention, enabling the construction of decentralized applications (DApps).

• Scalability: Ethereum supports various scaling solutions, including sharding, state channels, and more, improving transaction efficiency and handling more users and applications.

• Security: Ethereum's consensus mechanism ensures the network's security and reliability, guarding against various attacks.

Ethereum's Growth Path: Constant Iteration and Innovation

From Vitalik Buterin's publication of the Ethereum whitepaper in 2013 to the completion of the Merge in 2022, Ethereum has overcome obstacles and continuously pushed its boundaries, becoming the undisputed king of the public blockchain space. Looking back at Ethereum's development journey, we can see its ongoing iteration and innovation:

1. November 2013: Ethereum Whitepaper Released

Five years after the publication of the Bitcoin whitepaper, Vitalik Buterin unveiled the Ethereum whitepaper, outlining the vision of a "next-generation smart contract and decentralized application platform," aiming to transform blockchain into an application platform.

2. April 1, 2014: Ethereum Yellow Paper Released

Written by Dr. Gavin Wood, the Ethereum Yellow Paper technically defined the Ethereum protocol, laying the foundation for Ethereum's development.

3. June 2014: Ethereum ICO Launched

Ethereum successfully launched its ICO, raising over $18 million in just 42 days to fund Ethereum's ongoing development.

4. July 22, 2014: Ethereum (ETH) Officially Launched

Ethereum (ETH) was officially launched, using BTC as a trading medium, marking the beginning of Ethereum's market journey.

5. July 30, 2015: Frontier Officially Launched

The launch of Frontier signified the official activation of the Ethereum blockchain network. This stage primarily targeted blockchain developers, with node participants engaging in the network through mining.

6. September 7, 2015: Frontier Unfreeze Fork

This stage removed the block gas limit and set the default operation price to 51 giga Wei.

7. March 14, 2016: Homestead Fork Launched

The Homestead fork equipped Ethereum to better handle future upgrades.

8. July 20, 2016: DAO Fork Launched

To address a hacking attack targeting the DAO, Ethereum initiated the DAO fork. The community voted on this action plan, with over 85% supporting the fork decision. Some community members who opposed the fork later formed Ethereum Classic.

9. October 18, 2016: Tangerine Whistle Fork Launched

This fork was the first response to network DoS attacks at the time.

10. November 22, 2016: Spurious Dragon Fork Launched

This fork was the second response to network DoS attacks at the time, including adjusting OPcode pricing to prevent future attacks; debloating the blockchain's effective state; adding replay attack protection, etc.

11. October 16, 2017: Byzantium Fork Launched

The Byzantium fork reduced the block mining reward from 5 ETH to 3 ETH; delayed the deployment of the difficulty bomb; added the ability to make non-state-changing calls to other contracts; and included some cryptographic methods to allow for Ethereum Layer 2 scaling.

12. February 28, 2019: Constantinople Fork Launched

Ensured the blockchain would not be frozen before implementing the PoS mechanism; optimized gas cost issues in the Ethereum Virtual Machine; and added the ability to interact with address creation.

13. December 8, 2019: Istanbul Fork Launched

Continued to optimize gas cost issues in the Ethereum Virtual Machine; improved resistance to distributed denial-of-service attacks.

14. January 2, 2020: Muir Glacier Fork Launched

This fork introduced a mechanism to delay the difficulty bomb, as the increased block mining difficulty under the PoW consensus mechanism had some impact on the practicality of Ethereum.

15. October 14, 2020: Staking Deposit Contract Deployed

Introduced the Staking deposit mechanism (staking) to the Ethereum ecosystem, directly impacting the progress of the subsequent Beacon Chain launch.

16. December 1, 2020: Beacon Chain Starts Producing Blocks

This was a significant milestone in the implementation of Ethereum's vision. The Beacon Chain completed its staking requirements on November 27, 2020.

17. April 15, 2021: Berlin Upgrade

The Berlin upgrade optimized gas cost issues in the Ethereum Virtual Machine and added support for multiple transaction types.

18. August 5, 2021: London Upgrade

This upgrade introduced EIP.1559; reformed transaction fees; reformed gas refund handling; and updated the Ice Age schedule.

19. September 15, 2022: Paris Upgrade

The Ethereum Merge transitioned the consensus mechanism from PoW to PoS; the upgrade activated Engine API in the execution client.

The Future of Ethereum: Continued Innovation and Development

The Ethereum Merge is a milestone in its development, marking the entry into the PoS era. The new consensus mechanism will further enhance Ethereum's efficiency, security, and scalability, laying a solid foundation for Ethereum's future development.

Ethereum's future is filled with endless possibilities. From decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to the Metaverse, Ethereum will continue to lead the development of blockchain technology, providing a platform for the emergence of more innovative applications, driving blockchain technology towards broader application scenarios.

Satoshi Nakamoto and Vitalik Buterin: Two Different Choices

Satoshi Nakamoto chose to remain anonymous, while Vitalik Buterin chose to step into the spotlight, leading the Ethereum community to constantly break through and innovate. These two different choices also reflect two models in blockchain development. Nakamoto's model emphasizes the technology itself, while Buterin's model focuses more on community power. While Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin, Ethereum's rapid development proves the power of community.

Conclusion:

Ethereum's growth journey is a process of constant iteration and innovation, showcasing the potential and future of blockchain technology. Whether developers, investors, or ordinary users, we can all be inspired by the development of Ethereum and look forward to Ethereum creating even more brilliant achievements in the future.

Keywords:

• Ethereum

• Public Blockchain

• Blockchain 2.0

• Smart Contracts

• Decentralized Applications

• Merge

• Vitalik Buterin

• Satoshi Nakamoto

• PoW

• PoS

• DeFi

• NFT

• Metaverse

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