Ethereum Turns 10: Key Milestones That Shaped Web3

Ethereum turns 10, marking a decade of innovation from smart contracts to institutional adoption.

A decade after its launch, Ethereum has grown from an experimental whitepaper into the world’s second-largest blockchain and a foundational layer of decentralized finance, digital ownership, and Web3 infrastructure. What started as Vitalik Buterin’s vision for a world computer has evolved into a robust, global infrastructure powering everything from NFTs to corporate treasuries.

With nearly $84 billion in total value locked (TVL) and recent institutional momentum buoying Ether’s potential return to all-time highs, Ethereum’s journey reflects more than just technological progress — it’s a testament to resilience, community, and a radical reimagining of financial and digital systems.

A Decade of Ethereum: Defining Milestones

The Whitepaper That Sparked a Movement (November 2013)

Ethereum was first introduced in a whitepaper by Vitalik Buterin on November 27, 2013. Unlike Bitcoin, which focused on peer-to-peer currency, Ethereum proposed a decentralized platform for programmable contracts and applications. The idea of smart contracts laid the groundwork for what is now known as Web3.

Crowdfunding the Future: Ethereum ICO (July–September 2014)

In one of the earliest and most impactful crypto fundraisers, Ethereum held an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) between July and September 2014, raising over $18 million in Bitcoin. This community-driven funding model empowered the creation of the Ethereum Foundation and development of the protocol, setting a precedent for future blockchain projects.

Mainnet Launch and Unbroken Uptime (July 30, 2015)

Ethereum officially went live on July 30, 2015, with the mining of its genesis block. Since then, it has maintained 100% uptime, demonstrating unmatched reliability through bull runs, market crashes, and massive on-chain activity — a rare feat in blockchain history.

The DAO Hack and a Community Divided (June 2016)

One of Ethereum’s earliest existential crises came with The DAO hack, where an attacker exploited a smart contract vulnerability to siphon off 3.6 million ETH. In response, the community voted for a hard fork to return the stolen funds, splitting the chain into Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). This event ignited a lasting debate over blockchain governance and immutability.

Metropolis: Byzantium and Constantinople Upgrades (2017–2019)

Ethereum’s Metropolis phase introduced key protocol improvements:

Byzantium (Oct 2017): Enabled zk-SNARK compatibility and reduced block rewards from 5 to 3 ETH.
Constantinople (Feb 2019): Optimized gas usage and further dropped block rewards to 2 ETH.

These updates streamlined performance and prepared the network for its future transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

DeFi and Financial Innovation (2020)

In 2020, Ethereum became the de facto base layer for decentralized finance (DeFi), as TVL surged from $700 million to over $15 billion. A wave of governance tokens like COMP, YFI, and UNI spurred massive participation in yield farming and decentralized lending.

Uniswap saw daily trading volumes rival those of centralized exchanges.
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) brought over $1 billion in BTC liquidity onto Ethereum.
SushiSwap ignited the “vampire mining” trend, pulling liquidity from Uniswap.

Despite high gas fees and contract exploits, Ethereum’s programmable design enabled a new era of financial experimentation.

NFT Boom and Cultural Breakthroughs (2021)

The ERC-721 token standard enabled the explosion of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), reshaping digital art and culture:

Beeple’s “Everydays” sold for $69 million at Christie’s.
CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) became cultural icons.
Art Blocks redefined generative art with works like “Fidenza.”

Ethereum emerged as the cultural engine of Web3, merging art, memes, and programmable ownership into a new form of digital expression.

EIP-1559 and the Merge: A New Economic Model (2021–2022)

In August 2021, Ethereum introduced EIP-1559 via the London Hard Fork. The upgrade overhauled the gas fee system by burning a portion of transaction fees, introducing deflationary pressure on ETH supply.

The momentum continued with The Merge on September 15, 2022 — Ethereum’s transition from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake. This:

Reduced energy usage by over 99.95%
Slashed ETH issuance by nearly 90%
Enabled ETH staking and validator rewards

Together, these changes redefined Ethereum’s sustainability and economic security.

Scaling the Network: Rollups, Dencun, and Pectra (2024–2025)

With Layer-1 nearing capacity, Ethereum embraced a rollup-centric roadmap to scale while preserving decentralization. Major upgrades included:

Dencun (March 2024): Introduced EIP-4844 (proto-danksharding) to support blob transactions, significantly reducing Layer-2 data costs.
Pectra (May 2025): Implemented 11 EIPs improving validator performance and smart wallet features, while expanding blob limits for higher throughput.

These changes accelerated adoption of rollups like Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and Linea, lowering costs and improving speed for users worldwide.

Institutional Recognition: ETH ETFs and Corporate Adoption (2024–2025)

In July 2024, the SEC approved U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs, opening the door for both retail and institutional investors to access ETH through traditional financial products. Major players like BlackRock, Fidelity, and VanEck launched offerings, boosting liquidity and legitimacy.

By 2025:

Companies like SharpLink Gaming and BitMine integrated ETH into their corporate treasuries.
Staking ETFs emerged, allowing investors to earn yield on ETH through regulated channels.
The GENIUS Act was passed, giving legal recognition to stablecoins — most of which operate on Ethereum.

Ethereum’s role as a financial backbone for tokenized assets and real-world settlement grew more evident.

What Ethereum’s 10-Year Journey Means for the Future

Ethereum’s first decade underscores its transformation from an idea into a critical layer of the digital economy. It has weathered governance disputes, scalability challenges, and volatile market cycles — all while maintaining operational uptime and expanding its influence across finance, culture, and infrastructure.

With the rise of Layer-2s, account abstraction, and the modularization of its architecture, Ethereum is poised to scale for the next billion users. Institutional adoption and regulatory integration further cement its standing as a yield-generating and programmable asset class.

Still, challenges remain — including regulatory risks, smart contract security, and competition from emerging blockchains. Yet, Ethereum’s track record of innovation and adaptability makes it the most battle-tested ecosystem in Web3.

As the platform enters its second decade, its role is clear: Ethereum is no longer just a blockchain — it’s the settlement layer of the internet’s next chapter.