You might know about Ethereum, but do you know what advantages it has? Statista claims that the number of Ethereum tokens in circulation exceeds 122 million, and that’s almost ten times more than what is available in Bitcoin. In another research, it was established that out of many brands, 5348 had begun to use the token’s functions as a tool for Bitcoin in 2024. How is it that so many corporations are embracing this currency and investing in it if it does not stand to gain anything in return?
One of the popular use cases of Ethereum is the development of DApps, which run on a decentralized network, reducing chances of censorship or downtime. According to Virtue Market Research, the DApps market size as of 2022 stood at $25.63 billion and was expected to reach $70.82 billion by 2030. The statistics speak for themselves—it seems Ethereum’s technology is here to stay. Let’s learn more about how it is shaping the business world.
Recent updates that enhance Ether’s competitiveness
Early this year, news circulated about an impending upgrade of Ethereum’s infrastructure that would enhance its capabilities and performance. The decision to perform the upgrade was reached during a bi-weekly coordinating call among Ether developers.
Amid challenges of energy consumption, scalability and transaction throughput, Ethereum has remained resolute in its efforts to enhance sustainable operations. This upgrade, known as the Dencun upgrade, draws inspiration from a Chinese word that means to accumulate or store.
The Dencun upgrade came at a time when this digital token sought to establish its reputation as the leading blockchain platform by empowering many DApps while ensuring scalability and transaction efficiency. It was to incorporate a proto-dank sharding feature, whose role was to reduce transaction costs on the auxiliary layer-2 network.
And good enough, the upgrade was added to the Holesky testnet successfully without experiencing technical challenges. Parithosh Jayanthi, an engineer at the Ethereum Foundation, expressed his joy and satisfaction, stating that it was a great milestone after several years of work.
More benefits
One of the many things Ethereum has always sought to reduce is the cost of data availability. With the introduction of Dencun, Ethereum was expected to achieve this goal and, as a result, enhance the appeal of projects like EigenDA and Avail.
The deployment on the Holesky testnet was to help guarantee a smooth integration of the upgrade into the mainnet. The proto-dank sharding is just part of a bigger vision—developers are working on a larger feature, dank sharding, that will enhance Ethereum’s scalability even more.
What about security? In a world where cyberattacks have become rampant, this is not a question that escapes any tech-savvy person. To appeal to such preferences, the upgrade was to introduce improvements to the currency’s consensus mechanism, thereby enhancing Ethereum’s security status.
And to ensure it is sustainable, Dencun explores more environmentally friendly initiatives like the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
Examples of businesses
1. Barclays
Founded in 1690, Barclays is one of the largest banks worldwide, with more than 200,000 employees. The bank has previously welcomed blockchain technology, stating that it can help reduce variation and the need for reconciliation and simplify processes.
They have initiatives like the Eagle Labs and Barclays Accelerator to introduce new ways of thinking as regards blockchain technology. Nearly a decade ago, Barclays partnered with R3 CEV to build a blockchain infrastructure for the company.
2. Shopify
Shopify is another company that is not hostile to cryptocurrencies. From welcoming crypto payments to adopting blockchain commerce tools, this e-commerce company has positioned itself as innovative and forward-thinking. Like just recently, in 2023, they made it possible for merchants to use tokengating tools to determine which token holders can access exclusive products.
With the tools, the merchants will be able to verify user eligibility and reward them or incorporate exclusive offers for certain products. What about Ethereum? You may wonder. This is also not left out. To enable secure user sign-ins, Shopify has collaborated with the sign-in with Ethereum (SIWE) protocol, which Ethereum Name Service (ENS) and the Ethereum Foundation facilitate. As a user, you won’t need to give your private identifiers, such as phone numbers and names, to third parties.
Such moves rightly position Shopify’s brand, especially now that debates about user information privacy continue to soar. Imagine that the personal information of more than 1.5 billion people leaked just because of third-party breaches in 2021 alone. And as if that is not enough, about 98% of companies in 2024 partner with a third party that has ever experienced a breach in the past.
Final thoughts
It is no surprise that many industries are now turning to cryptocurrencies to stay relevant. We are in a time where privacy, security and transparency are highly valued – which are the very benefits that crypto offers. Ethereum, for instance, is known for its scalability and has earned a name for providing a convenient platform for smart contracts.
Looking at such benefits, we can now understand why more businesses are opening up to this token. And as innovations like the Dencun upgrade characterize the network, we will likely see more businesses adopt it in the coming days.