Ethereum: A World Computer
30 July 2015
The blockchain became programmable. A new world of applications followed.
Origins
Bitcoin demonstrated a shared ledger without a central operator. Ethereum pursued a broader platform: programs could execute on a blockchain, with users paying for computation in ether.
The moment
The Ethereum Foundation announced Frontier on 30 July 2015. Participants generated and loaded the genesis block, beginning the first live release. It was an early developer-oriented network, not the finished form of every application later associated with Ethereum.
The aftermath
Programmable contracts created a common foundation for exchanges, lending systems and digital collectibles. Those applications inherited both the possibilities and constraints of shared execution. The connections on this map follow that technical dependency rather than claiming one project caused every successor.