History of Ethereum

Ethereum was proposed by Vitalik Buterin in late 2013, with development starting in early 2014 and the network going live on July 30, 2015. It introduced the concept of smart contracts, allowing developers to create decentralized applications (DApps) on its blockchain. Ethereum's initial coin offering (ICO) in 2014 raised over $18 million. Since then, Ethereum has undergone several upgrades, with the most significant being Ethereum 2.0, a transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake consensus mechanism for improved scalability and sustainability. Ethereum has become the leading platform for decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and various other blockchain-based applications.

Here's a more detailed timeline of Ethereum's history: 

1. *Inception (2013-2014)*: Vitalik Buterin first described Ethereum in late 2013 in a whitepaper. Development began in early 2014, with Buterin collaborating with other co-founders including Gavin Wood and Joseph Lubin.
2. *Ethereum ICO (2014)*: Ethereum conducted one of the earliest and most successful initial coin offerings (ICOs) in 2014, raising over $18 million by selling Ether (ETH) tokens.
3. *Frontier Release (2015)*: Ethereum's "Frontier" network was launched on July 30, 2015, marking the initial release of the Ethereum blockchain and allowing developers to start building and deploying decentralized applications (DApps).
4. *Homestead Release (2016)*: The "Homestead" release, on March 14, 2016, introduced several protocol improvements and stabilized the Ethereum platform, making it more secure and robust.
5. *The DAO Hack (2016)*: In June 2016, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) built on Ethereum called "The DAO" was exploited, resulting in the loss of about $50 million worth of Ether. This led to a contentious hard fork, resulting in the split of Ethereum into Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC).
6. *Metropolis (2017)*: Metropolis was a major upgrade split into two hard forks, Byzantium (October 2017) and Constantinople (February 2019). These upgrades introduced improvements such as increased privacy, scalability enhancements, and reduced issuance of new ETH.
7. *Ethereum 2.0 (2020-present)*: Ethereum began its transition to Ethereum 2.0, also known as Eth2 or Serenity, aimed at improving scalability, security, and sustainability. The first phase, called Phase 0, launched in December 2020, introducing the Beacon Chain and proof-of-stake consensus. Subsequent phases will further enhance Ethereum's capabilities.
8. *DeFi and NFT Boom (2020-present)*: Ethereum has become the leading platform for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, allowing users to borrow, lend, trade, and earn interest without intermediaries.
Additionally, the explosion of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in 2021, which are unique digital assets representing ownership of items like art, collectibles, and virtual real estate, has largely occurred on the Ethereum blockchain. Throughout its history, Ethereum has evolved into a foundational infrastructure for the broader blockchain ecosystem, enabling innovation across various industries and use cases.