The Ethereum market cap has surpassed all of the top banks in the world. Despite only being in existence for about a decade, it’s already outpacing every bank in the world by market capitalization. This is a staggering achievement, especially when you consider that the ethereum blockchain is still fairly new.
Ethereum’s market cap is up 460% year to date, making it the second largest cryptocurrency. Smart contracts have also helped it gain momentum. Today, it has a $486 billion market cap and is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2022. This is a huge jump, and a great sign that the cryptocurrency is taking off.
Ethereum is a decentralized computing platform powered by its native currency, Ether (ETH). It uses a blockchain to process transactions and is also used to issue new crypto assets. The platform is used for ICOs and is the platform of choice for the vast majority of DeFi projects. The platform was created by Vitalik Buterin, a programmer who proposed several changes to the Bitcoin blockchain and incorporated a scripting language.
Ethereum is a programmable blockchain, and it has smart contract capabilities. These self-executing contracts execute when certain conditions are met. They power non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are digital files that are stored on the blockchain. These NFTs are essentially digital certificates of ownership. Smart contracts can transfer NFTs to other users.