Ethereum paved the way for smart contracts, and now they can revolutionize the world. Here’s how

Ethereum is a blockchain that has brought a long list of advantages over what its cousin, Bitcoin, offers. So, instead of only serving as a platform with a native token, Ether, Ethereum has taken things further and introduced many innovations in the blockchain game, including smart contracts, NFTs, decentralized applications, and so on. All these improvements have made Ether more appealing to investors worldwide, and they also had a positive impact on the ETH value. The ETH prediction for the following years looks bright, as Ethereum will surely embrace even more features, which could expand its use cases. Up to this moment, Ether is the second-largest digital coin, being surpassed only by the pioneer crypto, Bitcoin. Additionally, as these are the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, they also impact the prices of the other digital coins. For example, in the case of the Binance Coin, the BNB prediction shows that this digital coin could benefit from more exposure because crypto has increased in popularity.

How did Ether manage to increase so much and have an upward trajectory? Well, we can thank smart contracts for this. Keep reading to find out more about smart contracts. 

What exactly are smart contracts?

Smart contracts are innovations that were born thanks to blockchain, a decentralized ledger not controlled by an authority like a government or a central bank. Blockchain has captured people’s attention worldwide, especially because, before that moment, the majority of platforms offered centralized alternatives. But Ethereum differs from this, thanks to whom? Well, smart contracts, of course. Smart contracts are contracts that execute themselves automatically once the set requirements are met. They already have the terms of the agreement in the lines of codes, which improves many companies’ operations, as middlemen will no longer be needed in this process. 

A look into the evolution of smart contracts

Nick Szabo first introduced the notion of smart contracts in 1990, but it didn’t gain much traction until blockchain technology became a worldwide phenomenon. The first platform to support smart contracts was Ethereum, which offered everything developers needed to deploy and build decentralized applications (dApps), NFTs, and DeFi. 

When Nick presented the concept of smart contracts to the world, people didn’t seem to be that interested in them, and they continued to use traditional financial services, as they didn’t understand that much about what smart contracts were. 

How did Ethereum change the landscape of smart contracts forever? 

Bitcoin is the first blockchain and digital currency created, impacting everything that appeared in the crypto sphere. However, Bitcoin had some limitations, which the other blockchains wanted to fix. The first one to do this was Ethereum, which introduced the concept of smart contracts for the first time. Ethereum was designed differently than Bitcoin, as it has a unique architectural design platform that offers new opportunities to businesses worldwide. Ethereum has enabled faster, easier, more secure, and transparent processes, offering a better experience than traditional solutions.

How did the smart contract landscape expand? 

Ethereum is the most important platform for smart contracts, but this fantastic innovation has also been added to other blockchains. Now, there is an entire ecosystem centered around smart contracts, and in addition to Ethereum, there is Solana, Cardano, and Polkadot. They all offer enhanced scalability features, faster transaction speeds, and lower fees, which can increase the demand for smart contract applications. 

The new blockchains also have new smart contract programming languages, like Move, Rust, and Vyper, with the huge merit of offering developers more tools to create secure smart contracts. The smart contract landscape has become more competitive, and they drive new evolution in this sphere. 

Solana is a good example of technology that uses smart contracts, as it offers low fees and high transaction throughput, which makes it the perfect choice for developing dApps. Another great example is Polkadot, a unique architecture that allows multiple blockchain networks to connect in their processes while adding interoperability and cross-chain communication. Cosmos is also a great solution for developing blockchain applications, ultimately leading to custom-tailored smart contracts. 

What are the benefits of smart contracts?

Smart contracts bring a lot of advantages, which is why they have continued to be integrated into many blockchains. For example, smart contracts have a high level of transparency, as they don’t involve third parties in their operations, so nothing could be altered once recorded on the blockchain. They can also bring better speed, efficiency, and accuracy into the landscape, as these contracts are automated, so they will execute instantly once the set conditions are met. As no third parties are involved, they will greatly improve speed, eliminate errors, and improve efficiency. 

Smart contracts also benefit from higher security, which makes them difficult to hack because all the codes are secured with encryption. 

What can the future bring for smart contracts?

Nick Szabo introduced the concept of smart contracts for the first time in 1990, and no one had ever imagined that they could evolve so quickly. This could also continue in the future, especially because technology is present with us every day. Now, each part of our lives has moved online, and blockchain and crypto, in general, have spread so much that they appeal to an increasing number of people. If we look at everything the smart contracts have gone through, we will see that they have come a long way, paved both with ups and downs, which, in the end, have led to the smart contracts we know today. So, we can’t pinpoint what will happen with smart contracts in the future, but we hope for the best. 

Conclusion

Smart contracts are an innovation that has amazed a lot of people over the years. Ethereum is the first blockchain that has introduced smart contracts, and since then, this platform has inspired plenty of other networks, which is the reason why now we have a big ecosystem centered around smart contracts.