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A decade after its launch, Ethereum has become the backbone of DeFi and web3. <\/p>\n
Ethereum<\/a> officially turned 10 on Wednesday, marking a decade since its mainnet launch on July 30, 2015. Although its native token, Ether (ETH)<\/a>, has struggled to maintain momentum over the past five years, experts say its long-term outlook is improving.<\/p>\n Originally proposed in a 2013 white paper by programmer Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum introduced the concept of smart contracts, or self-executing code deployed on decentralized networks. The blockchain also paved the way for decentralized applications (dApps) and helped enable the emergence of decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).<\/p>\n Currently, Ethereum is the world\u2019s largest blockchain by total value locked (TVL) in DeFi, holding nearly $84 billion of DeFi\u2019s $140 billion TVL, per DeFiLlama<\/a>. In terms of valuation, ETH is only second to Bitcoin (BTC)<\/a> \u2013 with ETH currently trading at around $3,800 with a market cap of $459 billion, compared to Bitcoin\u2019s $2.3 trillion, according to CoinGecko<\/a>.<\/p>\n What initially began as a research project has grown into the leading platform for much of the crypto space. And now, as Ethereum turns 10, industry experts are reflecting on its influence, which goes beyond being just a blockchain \u2013 to many, Ethereum has laid the foundation of today\u2019s Web3 landscape.<\/p>\n Ignacio Palomera, CEO of Bondex, explained in comments shared with The Defiant that when Ethereum first emerged in 2015, its narrative often centered around its potential as a blockchain to be built on. \u201cTen years later, Ethereum has more than served that purpose; it has drafted the playbook for anyone who wants to build a truly interoperable and decentralized ecosystem \u2013 a legacy and lasting impact far grander than initially anticipated,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Palomera also emphasized that it was Ethereum that introduced the key ideas that changed how people use money, digital assets, and connect online. <\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just about building new applications; it was about developing a robust, decentralized platform that acts as the foundation for continued innovation,\u201d he explained. \u201cEthereum\u2019s emergence as the \u2018computer for computers\u2019 has been its most significant achievement so far.\u201d<\/p>\n Austin King, co-founder of Omni Network, echoed this view, saying Ethereum\u2019s introduction of smart contracts \u201copened the floodgates for innovation in decentralized finance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSince its introduction, we have seen new use cases for trading, lending and derivatives built in a novel way that prove to the world the financial system can be trustless and open for all to participate,\u201d King added. <\/p>\n Looking ahead, King said Ethereum is poised for \u201cwidespread commercial adoption for the first time in its history,\u201d as driven by recent technical innovations and much-needed regulatory clarity<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder of RedStone, believes that over the next 10 years, Ethereum will likely shift from being mainly a DeFi platform to becoming the \u201cbase layer\u201d for institutional finance and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.<\/p>\n He explained that the major shift will be from \u2018crypto-native\u2019 applications to seamless integration with traditional platforms, \u201cwhere users interact with Ethereum-based services without even knowing they\u2019re using blockchain technology,\u201d similar to how users engage with A.I.<\/p>\n \u201cSmart contracts will power everything from long-term mortgages to overnight lending, but the complexity will be abstracted away,\u201d Kazmierczak said. \u201cThe real success metric won\u2019t be TVL or gas fees, but how invisible yet essential Ethereum becomes to global finance.\u201d<\/p>\n Kazmierczak told The Defiant that based on network growth metrics, a conservative projection places ETH\u2019s price between $25,000 and $40,000 by 2035. That forecast assumes steady adoption of tokenization, Ethereum maintaining 60\u201370% dominance in DeFi, and capturing just 5% of global financial settlement volume. <\/p>\n Trevor Koverko, co-founder of Sapien, told The Defiant that while he believes ETH could hit $10,000 \u201cvery soon,\u201d in the next 10 years, “we could very well see Ethereum reaching the same level of Bitcoin’s value now.\u201d Currently, BTC is trading at $117,000. <\/p>\n \u201cConsider that the Ethereum chain is one of the most flexible for developers and has strong AI integration,\u201d Koverk said. \u201cThe latter alone is responsible for ETH’s strong upswing over the last year as more AI integration drives investor interest at both the singular and institutional levels.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the past 10 years, Ethereum has hit several major milestones that helped define both the network and the broader crypto landscape.<\/p>\n ETH hit an all-time high of $4,878 on November 9, 2021. Less than a year later, the Ethereum network completed \u201cThe Merge,\u201d transitioning from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus. The upgrade combined Ethereum\u2019s original execution layer with the Beacon Chain\u2019s consensus layer \u2013 a move that significantly reduced energy consumption and enabled staking.<\/p>\n Another milestone was reached in 2024 when Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Trading of these ETFs began on July 23, 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cThe approval of the Ethereum ETF was a watershed moment for the crypto industry, legitimizing ETH in the eyes of mainstream investors and institutions alike,\u201d Katherine Wu, the COO of ENS Labs, said in comments shared with The Defiant. \u201cWith Ethereum ETFs, [investors are] getting something different: a productive, programmable asset that underpins stablecoins, tokenization, real-world assets, and more. The ETH ETF didn\u2019t just validate an asset class \u2013 it validated an ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n In the year since their launch, U.S.-listed Ethereum ETFs <\/a>have attracted $9.6 billion in cumulative total net inflows. Meanwhile, total net assets stand at over $21 billion, or 4.75% of Ethereum’s market cap, according to SoSoValue data<\/a>. The largest single-day ETH ETF inflows were recorded on July 15 and totaled over $726 million. <\/p>\n \u201cThese are massive numbers that speak volumes: institutions aren\u2019t just paying attention, they\u2019re allocating,\u201d Wu said. \u201cAnd when Ethereum sees this kind of inflow and validation, the entire ecosystem benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n\u2018Computer for computers\u2019<\/h2>\n
What\u2019s next?<\/h2>\n
Major milestones<\/h2>\n