In July 2015, the Ethereum blockchain was launched by Vitalik Buterin and his team of co-founders. With its native cryptocurrency Ether (ETH) and smart contract functionality, Ethereum aimed to become a decentralized world computer that could execute peer-to-peer agreements and applications.

Over the past eight years, Ethereum has cemented itself as the leading smart contract platform, enabling a new wave of decentralized applications across finance, gaming, collectibles and more. It’s also established itself as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, behind only Bitcoin in terms of importance.

To celebrate eight years of Ether, let’s take a walk down memory chain and revisit some of king of altcoins’ major milestones along the way.

The Origins of Ethereum

Ethereum was first …