Ethereum at 10: From Crypto Experiment to Wall Street's Invisible Backbone

Ethereum, the pioneering blockchain platform, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary on July 30, 2025. What began as a bold experiment by idealists has evolved into a foundational technology powering decentralized finance (DeFi), NFTs, and tokenized markets globally. Its decade-long journey showcases remarkable resilience and innovation, transforming from a niche concept to an integral part of the modern financial landscape.

From Humble Beginnings to Global Infrastructure

Launched in 2015 from a modest Berlin office, Ethereum's initial release, "Frontier," was a bare-bones network enabling smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). Co-founder Vitalik Buterin envisioned a programmable financial operating system, a stark contrast to Bitcoin's

Sources

• Ethereum Is 10 Years Old As The SEC Chair Heralds DeFi As The Future, Forbes.

• From scrappy experiment to Wall Street’s invisible backbone, CNBC.