Beginner Coin Introductions

The following series of five posts will be my attempt at accurately and succinctly explaining the mechanics of the top five market cap cryptocurrencies to new cryptocurrency enthusiasts, of which there are many. My goals are to provide the highest-value relevant information in between 100-150 words. The concise nature of each analysis mainly services the short attention span of the modern reader and will be used as scaffolding for later extrapolations

Newcomer Analysis 2: Ethereum

Current Market Cap: $78,871,846,078

Ethereum is an open-source, decentralized software which powers and is powered by ether, its associated cryptocurrency.

The total supply of ether is not capped, while the yearly addition is capped at 18,000,000 ether/year.

Ether works as a medium of exchange but also powers the Ethereum network. It acts as “gas” as in it fuels transactions.

Ethereum allows for innovative “smart contracts”, programs built on Ethereum that mimic traditional contracts in that they define the rules of transactions and automatically enforce them.

Ethereum also allows for “DApps”. These are standard programs/applications but are considered innovative because rather than being centralized, they function in a peer-to-peer decentralized environment.

My bias: Its increased adoption, and formation of collectives like the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance and the Ethereum Trust Alliance serve as proof of the token’s utility and its members’ dedication towards increased long-term adoption and security.

References:

https://coinmarketcap.com/

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/ethereum.asp

https://entethalliance.org/eea-members/

https://ethtrust.org/

Disclaimer: I am by no means a cryptocurrency professional. I am a BS in Finance and approach my analyses through an economic and financial point of view. I do my best to integrate all current relevant information into analysis.