Unicorn! Ethereum's market value reaches 1 billion US dollars!

Rage Review : For start-ups, a valuation of $1 billion is usually called a "unicorn" company. Ethereum is the second blockchain project in the blockchain industry to reach such a market value. Ethereum has been the second largest digital currency in terms of trading volume for a month. This new milestone has significantly narrowed the gap between Ethereum and Bitcoin, which has a maximum market value of 6.3 billion. However, unlike Bitcoin, which is more used in the payment field, the core value of Ethereum lies in providing the most basic blockchain application development platform and Turing-complete programmable smart contracts. Currently, nearly 100 blockchain projects are being developed on the Ethereum platform.

Translation: Annie Xu

On the morning of March 12, 2016, Ethereum reached a new milestone. At 3:15 am GMT, the company reached a market value of $1 billion. Ethereum's market value began to explode after the announcement that "Homestead" had entered the testing phase. The number of active nodes increased by 22% in a single day, and has been growing steadily since then. Ether has been the second most traded digital currency for a month. This new milestone has significantly narrowed the gap between Ethereum and Bitcoin. The latter's peak market value was 6.3 billion.

Ethereum market grows steadily

Ethereum uses Turing-complete scripting language to integrate blockchain applications with smart contracts, so it has a unique advantage in the digital currency market. Many startups and projects use it to develop applications, and it has even attracted Microsoft's "blockchain as a service" platform Azure. Before the emergence of Ethereum, altcoins were mainly exchanged with Bitcoin, and only achieved incremental improvements in features and technology. However, after Bitcoin became popular, this single mode of cooperation changed.

The Bitcoin community is full of debates about block size. As Bitcoin stagnates, people are looking for alternatives to digital currency transactions. As Ethereum develops rapidly, people are turning to it for a way out. Although $1 billion is not an eternal number, the practicality of Ethereum determines that its growth is by no means a bubble-like growth like altcoin.

We are all excited to see where this growth will take Ethereum development and trading. Some believe that price growth may cause problems for certain smart contract applications, but continued development will be a force for stability in digital currency trading, rather than the volatility of Bitcoin. If there is any digital currency that can compete with or exceed Bitcoin's market value, Ethereum seems to be the safest bet at the moment. Regardless, Ethereum will incentivize Bitcoin developers to continue to innovate to keep up with its growth rate.