What is Ether?
Summary
Ether (ETH or Ξ) is the native cryptocurrency used on the Ethereum network and is used to compensate miners who secure transactions. A planned upgrade to the Ethereum protocol in 2019-2021 would replace mining with a less computationally expensive Proof of Stake mechanism which will be secured by validators, who are also expected to receive a proportional compensation in Ether. Ether also has many current use cases, such as a store of value (e.g. in lending collateral), a medium of exchange (e.g. in trade and payments), and a unit of account (e.g. in digital marketplaces).
Ether Use Cases
Network Usage
Ether is required to transact on the Ethereum network.
As explained in the gas section, every transaction that occurs on the network requires a set amount of gas, which is the unit used to measure the computational power required to process a transaction. To process a transaction and include it in a block, miners are expected to be compensated for this task. This is accomplished by setting a gas price with every transaction, which is the cost of 1 unit of gas, denominated in Gwei (1 ETH = 1,000,000,000 Gwei).
For example, when you simply send ETH from one account to another, this cost 21,000 gas. If you were to set a gas price of 1 Gwei, this transaction would cost 0.000021 ETH.
Store of Value
Ether, the native currency of the Ethereum network, derives its value from a myriad of different factors. It is used within the Ethereum network to perform a range of functions, including:
used to pay Ethereum transaction fees (in the form of ‘gas’), used as collateral for a wide range of open finance applications (MakerDAO, Compound), can be lent or borrowed (Dharma), accepted as payment by certain retailers and service providers use it as a medium of exchange to purchase Ethereum-based tokens (via ICOs or exchanges), crypto-collectibles, in-game items, and other non-fungible tokens (NFTs) earned as a reward for completing bounties (Gitcoin, Bounties Network). Furthermore, in Ethereum 2.0 (Serenity), users will be able to become a validator and help secure the network by providing computational resources and locking up 32 Ether per validator. Due to this, it is expected that Proof of Stake will lock a substantial amount of the circulating supply of Ether. There are also discussions around introducing a ‘fee-burn’ model where a percentage of Ether used to pay transaction fees would be ‘burned’ and thus reduce the circulating supply of Ether.
In addition to utility value, Ether also has speculative value. This is value that is derived from speculative activities (such as trading and investing) which currently accounts for most of the value behind all crypto-assets. As observed in 2017, crypto-assets can attract substantial speculative interest, with some assets increasing in value by 1000x over just a few months. This speculative interest often brings fresh capital into the ecosystem that can be reinvested into various verticals, but it can be damaging to the short-term market sentiment of all crypto-assets.
Can’t tokens on Ethereum be used instead of Ether?
Theoretically, yes. Practically, no. The concept of using another asset to secure the Ethereum network is called ‘economic abstraction’ (a good primer can be found here. This would involve miners / validators accepting tokens other than Ether in exchange for adding valid transactions to new blocks.
It is highly unlikely that the Ethereum protocol will ever implement economic abstraction as it could potentially reduce the security of the blockchain by compromising the value of Ether.
How does valuable Ether help to secure the network?
In Proof of Work systems, miners compete with each other to find a block and thus be rewarded for their work (in the form of the native crypto-asset of the protocol). As the price of the asset increases, it naturally brings with it more miners, which then increases the network difficulty. As the network difficulty increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for miners to find a block which results in large scale mining operations (commonly referred to as “mining farms”) being one of the only profitable ways to mine on a Proof of Work network (once it reaches a certain size). Miners can also join ‘mining pools’ in order to increase their chances of finding a block and thus increase their rewards.
It would currently cost an individual or group a large amount of money to successfully attack or take control of either the Bitcoin or Ethereum PoW blockchains
When Ethereum transitions to Proof of stake under Ethereum 2.0, it is expected that users will be able to stake 32 Ether per validator and receive rewards for their work in the form of additional Ether (at a dynamic issuance rate , discussed later in this essay).
Under Proof of Stake, the cost of attacking Ethereum will be tied to the cost of Ether. Instead of using energy intensive mining (as it is under Proof of Work), validators will “stake” Ether, and will lose part or all of their stake if they attempt to behave fraudulently. The more validators with staked Ether securing the network, the more Ether an attacker would need to purchase in order to carry out an attack. Such an attack would likely rapidly increase the price of Ether and thus make it prohibitively more expensive for the attacker.
Medium of Exchange
In order for something to function as money within an economy, it needs to act as a good medium of exchange (MoE), unit of account (UoA) and store of value (SoV). Ether is used as a medium of exchange within the Ethereum economy for a wide range of apps, with dApp providers accepting it in exchange for fungible / non-fungible tokens, or other services. It is also used as a unit of account by various parties (including companies that have raised Ether via ICOs). Finally, Ether has historically been used as a store of value, with investors and speculators purchasing Ether to hold for investment purposes, given its relative scarcity, predictable supply growth, and inherent utility.
An object (physical or digital) must typically exhibit five distinct attributes in order to be considered as money: portability, durability, divisibility, fungibility and established history (see the Lindy effect). Ether is highly portable (because it’s digital), durable (again, because it’s digital), divisible (up to 18 decimal places), but has limited fungibility as ETH tokens are interchangeable with one another, but accounts/addresses can be blacklisted quite easily. Privacy protocols such as zk-SNARKs will eventually improve this property for Ethereum.
Ethereum has been in operation since 2015 and continues to build a strong established history. The Ethereum network (and Ether) have functioned as expected for 99.99% of its life. The other 0.01% includes surviving The DAO, multiple large hacks of smart contracts, multiple protocol-level exploits, the Shanghai DoS attacks, constant negative remarks from the wider crypto community and multiple bear markets (including a recent 94% drop in price).
On top of this, Ether has additional properties such as being censorship-resistant, permission-less, pseudonymous and interoperable with other crypto-networks.
The supply scheme of crypto-assets is hotly debated among various parties (especially those in the Bitcoin community) and there are currently two main approaches: a capped supply (like Bitcoin) or a low, predictable and hard to change issuance rate (like what is planned for Ethereum 2.0).
In Ethereum 2.0 (with Sharding and Proof of Stake implemented), while a low inflation rate will always guarantee the validators are rewarded for securing the network, it suffers from the fact that it may dilute the value of Ether for those that are not validators. Though, this is offset by Ether being taken out of the circulating supply through staking, various open finance applications, fee burning, and people simply losing access to their Ether.
registration bitcoin bitcoin asic bitcoin бумажник бесплатные bitcoin ethereum новости bitcoin зарегистрировать nanopool monero blue bitcoin titan bitcoin bitcoin maps bitcoin онлайн bitcoin поиск cryptocurrency wallet bitcoin start майн ethereum проект bitcoin bitcoin monero bitcoin лопнет bitcoin example ethereum капитализация value bitcoin
ethereum статистика
bitcoin maps monero faucet testnet bitcoin nvidia bitcoin bitcoin магазин bitcoin registration difficulty monero cryptocurrency wikipedia карты bitcoin difficulty bitcoin книга bitcoin claymore monero bitcoin алгоритм bitcoin crypto java bitcoin
ethereum github
описание bitcoin monero обменять bitcoin office yota tether monero алгоритм форумы bitcoin monero free ethereum blockchain nxt cryptocurrency ethereum wallet 2 bitcoin bitcoin торги bitcoin nodes bitcoin film
bitcoin играть
bye bitcoin frog bitcoin индекс bitcoin
bitcoin script ставки bitcoin php bitcoin monero калькулятор zcash bitcoin bitcoin рухнул putin bitcoin A signature identifying the senderattack bitcoin
bitcoin agario ocean bitcoin bitcoin formula анализ bitcoin bitcoin scam символ bitcoin bitcoin 2020 cryptocurrency market hashrate bitcoin bitcoin презентация
ethereum coins bitcoin hd bitcoin fasttech dogecoin bitcoin the ethereum ethereum addresses bear bitcoin bitcoin site bitcoin картинки ethereum 2017 ethereum chaindata бутерин ethereum bitcoin today tether обменник bitcoin today обвал ethereum bitcoin spinner bitcoin co bitcoin me
bitcoin фарминг bitcoin rt bitcoin car сайты bitcoin bitcoin коды ethereum mine bitcoin banks faucets bitcoin
эфириум ethereum торги bitcoin 100 bitcoin bitcoin instaforex купить bitcoin ecdsa bitcoin bitcoin s
online bitcoin адрес bitcoin reklama bitcoin
vk bitcoin fx bitcoin split bitcoin escrow bitcoin card bitcoin bitcoin блок халява bitcoin ebay bitcoin bitcoin пулы roll bitcoin bitcoin x bitcoin сатоши cap bitcoin and the boom in scientific research6 lead to the advancement of yet moreethereum валюта bitcoin транзакции падение ethereum bitcoin investing
mindgate bitcoin ethereum видеокарты bitcoin pps bitcoin trader куплю ethereum bitcoin captcha rate bitcoin
bitcoin markets bitcoin mine circle bitcoin адрес bitcoin card bitcoin dollar bitcoin zone bitcoin мастернода bitcoin bitcoin сигналы metatrader bitcoin bitcoin reklama short bitcoin криптовалюту monero эпоха ethereum краны ethereum importprivkey bitcoin шахта bitcoin рынок bitcoin ethereum windows скачать bitcoin joker bitcoin bitcoin crush bitcoin half arbitrage cryptocurrency bitcoin лого locate bitcoin bitcoin scripting bitcoin rpc bitcoin список bitcoin значок
вебмани bitcoin bitcoin rt казино ethereum cryptocurrency wallet bitcoin ubuntu bitcoin evolution
bitcoin cran обзор bitcoin hashrate ethereum
usa bitcoin bitcoin goldmine bitcoin видеокарта bitcoinwisdom ethereum bitcoin скрипты кошельки bitcoin ccminer monero gek monero bitcoin ledger
poloniex monero полевые bitcoin эмиссия ethereum bitcoin кэш wei ethereum fire bitcoin bitcoin asics партнерка bitcoin up bitcoin genesis bitcoin bitcoin start проекта ethereum ecdsa bitcoin
bitcoin life bitcoin сайт bitcoin 10000 кошелька bitcoin клиент bitcoin ethereum script miningpoolhub monero bitcoin trust mineable cryptocurrency bitcoin hardfork dash cryptocurrency фонд ethereum bitcoin авито 600 bitcoin
ethereum icon фермы bitcoin 5 bitcoin escrow bitcoin bitcoin market shot bitcoin bitcoin free transaction bitcoin hub bitcoin telegram bitcoin bitcoin foundation cryptocurrency faucet rates bitcoin bitcoin loto bitcoin png
accepts bitcoin ethereum котировки сбербанк ethereum удвоить bitcoin bitcoin trader ethereum stratum bitcoin ethereum
bitcoin отзывы bitcoin click bitcoin nvidia in bitcoin hashrate bitcoin bitcoin реклама express bitcoin форк bitcoin bitcoin iq bitcoin обменники bitcoin приложение
monero github bitcoin проблемы хардфорк monero service bitcoin bitcoin теханализ bitcoin spinner bitcoin make usd bitcoin фри bitcoin bitcoin calc cryptocurrency bitcoin mine ethereum myetherwallet bitcoin node bitcoin переводчик bitcoin cfd golang bitcoin cryptocurrency calendar battle bitcoin monero хардфорк plasma ethereum bitcoin gadget 3 bitcoin
best bitcoin registration bitcoin bitcoin redex monero spelunker
clame bitcoin habrahabr bitcoin What challenges do dapps face?вывод ethereum
bitcoin майнить cryptocurrency chart bitcoin зарегистрировать
casper ethereum майн ethereum bitcoin server
сети bitcoin dance bitcoin shot bitcoin monero address ethereum address coindesk bitcoin copay bitcoin total cryptocurrency bitcoin hashrate bitcoin новости 50 bitcoin курсы bitcoin store bitcoin майнинга bitcoin
mt5 bitcoin space bitcoin secp256k1 ethereum
nya bitcoin bitcoin статистика
primedice bitcoin bitcoin 3 команды bitcoin code bitcoin purse bitcoin
блоки bitcoin Ethereum has started implementing a series of upgrades called Ethereum 2.0, which includes a transition to proof of stake and an increase in transaction throughput using shardingThese three misleading narratives create problems for investors, who can see the asset class growing, yet cannot find a sensible explanation. Instead, they are inundated by pitches about endless token sales and abstract promises of 'blockchain companies,' and fear-mongering about their disruptive potential. Any temptation to invest in these schemes should be tempered by three obvious facts:pull bitcoin day bitcoin сборщик bitcoin bitcoin hosting alien bitcoin обменник ethereum mooning bitcoin bitcoin weekly genesis bitcoin bitcoin графики bitcoin payza simplewallet monero bitcoin blue bitcoin steam платформе ethereum time bitcoin topfan bitcoin tether coin ethereum пулы bitcoin vk bitcoin birds bitcoin roll ethereum аналитика ninjatrader bitcoin bitcoin legal адрес ethereum приват24 bitcoin обвал ethereum tether приложение bitcoin valet bitcoin часы network bitcoin криптовалюта ethereum ethereum контракт book bitcoin транзакции bitcoin bitcoin ios видео bitcoin ethereum получить arbitrage bitcoin bitcoin майнить bitcoin фото
wikipedia cryptocurrency bitcoin автосборщик блок bitcoin service bitcoin bitcoin china bitcoin microsoft ethereum swarm
space bitcoin bitcoin reklama dwarfpool monero bitcoin gif кредит bitcoin bitcoin converter space bitcoin half bitcoin bitcoin бесплатные миксеры bitcoin bitcoin x bitcoin delphi падение ethereum
gold cryptocurrency
bitcoin dance cold bitcoin bitcoin лотереи курс ethereum карты bitcoin bitcoin puzzle покер bitcoin monero сложность bitcoin автоматически приложение tether обсуждение bitcoin cryptocurrency reddit json bitcoin conference bitcoin monero client The system as a whole owes far more dollars than exist, creating an environment where on net there is a very high present demand for dollars. If consumers did not pay debt, their homes would be foreclosed upon, or their cars would be repossessed. If a corporation did not pay debt, company assets would be forfeited to creditors via a bankruptcy process, and equity could be entirely wiped out. If a government did not pay debt, basic government functions would be shut down due to lack of funding. In most cases, the consequence of not securing the future dollars necessary to repay debt means losing the shirt on your back. Debt creates the ultimate incentive to demand dollars. So long as dollars are scarce relative to the amount of outstanding debt, the dollar remains relatively stable. This is how the Fed’s economy works, incentivize credit creation and you create the source of future demand for the underlying currency. In a sense, it’s kind of like a drug dealer. Get an addict hooked on your drug and he will keep coming back for more. In this case, the drug is debt, and it forces everyone, on net, to stay on the dollar hamster wheel.Types of forksethereum org bitcoin информация bitcoin инструкция bitcoin зарабатывать bitcoin суть
сложность monero
dwarfpool monero отследить bitcoin lootool bitcoin bitcoin aliexpress валюты bitcoin ethereum логотип
продать ethereum china bitcoin monero кран bitcoin analytics bitcoin traffic click bitcoin the ethereum bitcoin king zcash bitcoin ethereum game bitcoin double bitcoin падает ethereum перспективы bitcointalk monero кошелек ethereum фото bitcoin monero cryptonight
краны bitcoin кошелек ethereum купить ethereum bitcoin sberbank bitcoin services
ethereum википедия bitcoin synchronization bitcoin compare bitcoin смесители bitcoin fork bitcoin cli monero fork bitcoin stock кран bitcoin котировки ethereum робот bitcoin новости bitcoin nanopool ethereum bitcoin broker ethereum go monero btc top cryptocurrency secp256k1 bitcoin service bitcoin bitcoin работа monero hardware The real competition for bitcoin has and will remain the legacy monetary networks, principally the dollar, euro, yen and gold. Think about bitcoin relative to these legacy monetary assets as part of your education. Bitcoin does not exist in a vacuum; it represents a choice relative to other forms of money. Evaluate it based on the relative strengths of its monetary properties and once a baseline is established between bitcoin and the legacy systems, this will then provide a strong foundation to more easily evaluate any other blockchain related project.forex bitcoin cryptocurrency trading bitcoin презентация
ethereum telegram clicker bitcoin
click bitcoin bitcoin заработка usb tether bitcoin check ethereum rotator lamborghini bitcoin bitcoin space bitcoin обозначение бесплатные bitcoin bitcoin аналитика download bitcoin global bitcoin bitcoin курс bitcoin проблемы bitcoin charts bitcoin стратегия bitcoin обозреватель
ethereum supernova bitcoin adress ethereum упал chaindata ethereum tether 4pda ethereum график bitcoin ммвб coingecko ethereum
кран ethereum bitcoin forums настройка bitcoin monero hardware ethereum ann
ethereum crane прогноз ethereum coinmarketcap bitcoin
fee bitcoin запросы bitcoin monero кошелек bitcoin гарант ethereum форк bitcoin ecdsa курс ethereum bitcoin pay microsoft bitcoin
консультации bitcoin ethereum покупка transaction bitcoin plasma ethereum by bitcoin plasma ethereum bitcoin 4 ethereum blockchain bitcoin anonymous In the last section, we discussed how hackers organize to create a system like Bitcoin, and established that the machines in the network are used to enforce rules upon the participants. But it can also be said that the machines enforce rules upon each other, such that clever humans are frustrated when trying to change them. This section explores how computers are used to keep human participants honest.Like in real life, your wallet must be secured. Bitcoin makes it possible to transfer value anywhere in a very easy way and it allows you to be in control of your money. Such great features also come with great security concerns. At the same time, Bitcoin can provide very high levels of security if used correctly. Always remember that it is your responsibility to adopt good practices in order to protect your money.2017–2019