A Brief Overview of Ethereum: Its Features, Challenges, and Benefits

Ethereum (ETH) is a decentralized blockchain network that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications, also known as apps. This is a brief review of Ethereum, where we describe its main features, how it works, and potential challenges and benefits.

Main Features

Ethereum is the second-largest crypto by market capitalization, and it has gained significant attention and popularity, as evidenced by the Eth price increase periodically, since its launch in 2015.  This crypto offers a unique platform for decentralized applications and smart contracts. 

Decentralization is one of the main benefits of this crypto, as it operates on a decentralized network, which means that there is no more need for third-party intermediaries. It uses blockchain technology, an aspect that enables peer-to-peer transactions without the need for the aforementioned intermediaries. 

Smart contracts are another strong feature of this crypto. Its programmable blockchain allows for the creation of these self-executing contracts, which automatically enforce the terms and conditions agreed upon by the involved parties. Smart contracts provide transparency and security for both parties and are considered to be the evolution of older contracts.

The Ethereum currency is called Eth. Eth price can vary due to the volatility of cryptocurrencies. But there is a perk to this, in the form of Ethereum’s versatility, which allows it to be used in various industries such as finance, supply chain management, real estate, energy grids, and many more. 

Its programmability allows smart contracts to have infinite variations and is therefore suitable for a wide range of applications.

Challenges and Benefits of Ethereum

Ethereum faces scalability challenges due to its PoW algorithm, which stands for proof-to-work. As more users interact with the network, block validation times and gas fees increase, which limits the network’s capacity. 

And yet, Ethereum’s platform allows for interoperability with other blockchain networks and protocols, which is not given in the field of crypto. This interoperability enables the seamless integration of existing infrastructure and the development of innovative solutions. 

In regards to its aforementioned challenges, Ethereum is working to overcome the matter of scalability by developing Ethereum 2.0, which aims to address this issue by changing its consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS), which should improve the aspect of scalability. Ethereum is a beneficial crypto to take into account due to its unique features and focus on smart contracts, which are becoming increasingly popular with each passing day.