Before there were memecoins, airdrops, or Twitter threads full of “alpha”, there was Ethereum. The chain that birthed DeFi, NFTs, DAOs… and more gas fee complaints than a Parisian taxi meter. It’s not just a blockchain — it’s the infrastructure of Web3. Buckle up.
🛠️ The World Computer (That Sometimes Lags)
Ethereum is a Layer 1 blockchain — like Solana, but more like your serious older cousin who read The Bitcoin Standard and went to law school. Instead of just tracking transactions, Ethereum lets you run smart contracts — little bits of code that live on-chain and do stuff automatically.
Smart contracts power everything from DEXes (like Uniswap) to NFT marketplaces (like OpenSea) to DAOs that somehow manage millions of dollars… via Discord votes. Magic.
It started on Proof of Work (RIP, miners) but switched to Proof of Stake in 2022 with “The Merge” — an upgrade so hyped it got its own memes and livestreams. Now it’s greener, leaner… but still not cheaper. That’s where Layer 2s like Arbitrum and Optimism come in: they handle the bulk stuff, then settle back to mainnet like obedient younger siblings.
📈 Culture, Clout & Countless Forks
Ethereum is where crypto gets serious. You’ll find the biggest brains, the best audits, and the wildest ponzinomics all living together in harmony.
Want to stake ETH? Launch a memecoin? Join a DAO about frog memes? Ethereum’s got your back. But it’ll cost you. Gas fees spike when the network’s busy — minting that NFT might cost more than your Uber Eats.
Still, Ethereum is THE playground for builders. Solidity is the dev language of Web3 clout. And every serious project — even if it starts elsewhere — dreams of “making it” to mainnet.
🧵 TL;DR
- Smart contract OG — invented the concept.
- Now Proof of Stake — cleaner and meaner.
- Still expensive — but Layer 2s are helping.
- Massive ecosystem — DeFi, NFTs, DAOs, and memes all live here.
- Wen flippening? — who knows, but ETH is here to stay.
Ethereum isn’t just a chain. It’s a whole vibe, a tech stack, and a culture. If Web3 is a party, Ethereum built the club. The bouncers are nerds. And the guest list? Permissionless.
