On July 30, 2025, Ethereum (ETH) celebrated the 10th anniversary of its mainnet launch.
Here are some events that shaped the second largest blockchain into what it has become.
Ethereum (ETH) whitepaper release: November 2013
Introduced by Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum (ETH) whitepaper outlined key directions of Ethereum (ETH) development and its global role as a world computer, the first decentralized computation platform for software applications.
Ethereum (ETH) ICO and mainnet launch: July 2014-July 2015
In the then-largest ICO, Ethereum (ETH) secured about $18 million. ETH tokens were distributed at the ratio of one BTC to 2,000 ETH. As such, Ethereum’s (ETH) ICO price was $0.311.
The DAO hack and Ethereum/Ethereum Classic fork: June-July 2016
After hackers drained the wallets of The DAO autonomous VC organization, one group of developers agreed to split the chain to mitigate the effects of the hack, while others defended the “code is law” principle of blockchain immutability. The first group won, while the second decided to stay with the original blockchain, now known as Etheruem Classic (ETC).
Byzantium hardfork: October 2017
Ethereum’s (ETH) Byzantium hardfork introduced the zk-SNARKS mechanism to Ethereum (ETH), unlocking opportunities for private transactions and optimized data logistics.
Difficulty bomb adjustments: September 2015-June 2022
While using a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus, Ethereum (ETH) leveraged mining as a basis for adding new blocks. Eventually, the difficulty of mining surged, which made mining unprofitability closer step by step. Ethereum (ETH) developers manually postponed this milestone in a number of hardforks over seven years.
Constantinople hardfork: February 2019
Constantinople hardfork included a block reward reduction from three ETH to two ETH, lowering inflation.
Key EIPs included EIP-1052 (efficient smart contract verification) and EIP-1283 (gas cost improvements for SSTORE operations). As a result, Ethereum became more developer-friendly, cost-effective and achieved more optimized data logistics.
EIP 1559 activation: August 2021
Activated within London hardfork, EIP 1559 upgrade introduced a dynamic fee model to Ethereum (ETH). In a post-London Ethereum (ETH), users had to pay basic fees and miner tips. The last component depended on how many transactions were actually included in this or that block. Also, after every block, Ethereum (ETH) started destroying base fees, which protect it from deflation.
The Merge: September 2022
The Merge was Ethereum’s (ETH) hotly anticipated transition from proof of work (PoW) to proof of stake (PoS), completed on Sept. 15, 2022, at block 15,537,393. It combined Ethereum’s (ETH) original execution layer (mainnet) with the Beacon Chain, which had been running staking architecture since Dec. 1, 2020. This marked the end of Ethereum (ETH) mining and the start of a more energy-efficient consensus model.
Cancun-Deneb hardfork: March 2024
The Cancun-Deneb upgrade (also called Dencun) was activated on March 13, 2024, at block 19,078,888. It was one of the first upgrades that separately affected the execution layer (Cancun) and consensus layer (Deneb). Dencun’s most anticipated feature was EIP-4844, also known as Proto-Danksharding, which introduced a new transaction type called “blobs.”
Prague-Electra hardfork: July 2025
Activated on May 7, 2025, Prague-Electra (or Pectra) hardfork was among the most ambitious changes in Ethereum’s (ETH) design post-Merge. It included 11 EIPs focused on functionality, security, operability and cost-efficiency for Ethereum (ETH), and its second-layer solutions. Its main changes paved the way to raising the maximum validator balance to 2,048 ETH and for blurring the line between smart contracts and on-chain accounts in Ethereum (ETH). Externally owned accounts (actually, on-chain wallets) were equipped with a number of functions that only smart contracts had previously.
Wrapping up: What’s next?
In 2025-2026, Ethereum (ETH) will undergo a Fulu-Osaka (Fusaka) hardfork and Gloas-Amsterdam (Glamsterdam) to reduce block times, cut transaction costs and streamline validator operations.
