The History of Blockchain — How it All Started PART 2
After part 1, we are continuing with the history of Blockchain through phases 2 and 3.
2013–2015: Blockchain 2.0
Vitalik Buterin is one of the developers that felt Bitcoin had not yet reached the target when it comes to leveraging the full capabilities of blockchain technology.
Concerned by Bitcoin’s limitations, Buterin started developing what he felt it would be a flexible blockchain that can perform various functions in addition to being a peer-to-peer network. Ethereum was presented as a new public blockchain in 2013 with added functionalities compared to Bitcoin, a development that has turned out to be a crucial moment in Blockchain history.
Buterin made Ethereum different from Bitcoin Blockchain by enabling a function that enables people to record other assets such as contracts. The new feature developed Ethereum functionalities from being a digital currency to being a platform for developing decentralized applications as well.
Officially started in 2015, Ethereum blockchain has grown to become one of the most significant applications of blockchain technology given its ability to support smart contracts utilized to perform various functions. Ethereum blockchain platform has likewise succeeded in gathering an active developer community that has seen it build a real ecosystem.
Ethereum blockchain processes the largest number of daily transactions thanks to its capacity to support smart contracts and decentralized applications.
2018: Blockchain 3.0
Blockchain History and development does not stop with Ethereum and Bitcoin. In recent years, several projects have cropped up all leveraging blockchain technology abilities. New projects have attempted to address some of the deficiencies of Bitcoin and Ethereum in addition to coming up with new features leveraging blockchain capabilities.
Some of the latest blockchain applications include NEO, advertised as the first open-source, decentralized Blockchain platform launched in China. Even though the country has banned cryptocurrencies, it continues to be active when it comes to blockchain innovations. NEO casts itself as the Chinese Ethereum having already secured the support of Alibaba CEO Jack Ma as it plans to have the same impact as Baidu in the country.
In the race to speed up the development of the Internet of Things, some developers aimed to leverage blockchain technology, and in the process came up with IOTA. The platform is optimized for the Internet of Things ecosystem as it tries to provide zero transaction fees as well as unique verification processes. It also addresses some of the scalability issues associated with Blockchain 1.0.
Besides IOTA and NEO, other second-generation blockchain platforms are additionally having a ripple effect in the sector. Monero Zcash and Dash blockchains came into being as a way of addressing some of the security and scalability issues associated with the early blockchain applications. Dubbed as privacy Altcoins, the three blockchain platform seek to provide high levels of privacy and security when it comes to transactions.
The blockchain history explained above involves public blockchain networks, whereby anyone can access the contents of a network. However, with the evolution of technology, several companies have started adopting the technology internally as a way of enhancing operational efficiency.
