到目前为止，您可能已经知道比特币(Bitcoins)已经成为所有新闻，并且是迄今为止最大的加密货币。同样(Likewise)，我们还有其他引起轰动的加密货币，其中之一就是以太坊(Ethereum)。如果说比特币是加密货币(Bitcoin)世界(World)的王者，那么以太坊(Ethereum)就是女王！
以太坊(Ethereum)加密货币目前是市场上第二大最有价值的加密货币(Cryptocurrency)。它于两年前推出，据信，一旦围绕比特币的兴奋平息，它将在 2018 年成为最受关注的话题(Bitcoins)。
那么让我们看看什么是以太坊(Ethereum)加密货币，它是如何工作的，以及它与比特币(Bitcoin)有何不同。
什么是以太坊加密货币
“以太坊(Ethereum)是一个运行智能合约的去中心化平台”——这是对它的完美解释。如果将它们与比特币进行比较，它们都是基于(Bitcoins)区块链技术(Blockchain technology)的开源平台。
以太坊是基于区块链的
以太坊包含交易和智能合约的数据块。这些块由一些参与者创建或挖掘并分发给验证它们的其他参与者。
像比特币(Bitcoin)一样的以太坊是一个公共的、无需许可的网络。这意味着任何人都可以下载或编写软件以连接到网络并开始创建交易和智能合约、验证它们并挖掘区块。无需登录或注册任何其他组织。他们都削减了金融交易中的中间人（银行）。没有中间商也意味着降低成本！
以太坊的 PoW（工作证明）
在比特币和以太坊(Ethereum)中，挖矿参与者在交易过程中通过消耗电力来寻找数学难题的解决方案来形成一个有效的区块。但是以太(Ethash)坊的PoW数学挑战(Ethereum)Ethash(PoW)与比特币的工作方式略有不同。它允许使用通用硬件进行挖矿。
在名为Serenity的(Serenity)以太坊(Ethereum)软件的未来版本中，计划将其从耗电的工作证明(Proof-of-Work)挖矿转移到更节能的权益证明(Proof-of-Stake)协议Casper。
以太坊提供去中心化计算平台
与使用区块链技术进行比特币(Bitcoin)支付的比特币不同，以太坊(Ethereum)使用分散的计算平台。去中心化(Decentralization)很重要，因为它消除了单点故障或控制。内部勾结或外部攻击几乎是不切实际的。有许多应用程序充当第三方，根据某种逻辑将您与其他人联系起来。我们的许多中心化系统都可以建立在这个去中心化的平台上，从而使这些交易无需信任。
ETHER 的意义
以太坊(Ethereum)的代币叫做Ether，简称ETH。这是一种以太坊(Ethereum)的加密货币，可以交易其他加密货币或其他主权货币，就像BTC一样。以太坊(Ethereum)加密货币代币“以太(Ether)”的所有权在以太坊区块链上进行跟踪，类似于在比特币区块(Ethereum)链上跟踪比特币所有权。但从技术上讲，他们的跟踪方式是不同的。
以太坊虚拟机 (EVM)
每台采矿计算机都使用他们的以太坊(Ethereum) 虚拟机(Virtual Machine)（EVM）在他们的计算机上运行智能合约作为采矿过程的一部分，并得出关于输出的结论。从理论上讲，如果一切顺利，以太坊网络上的每台计算机都会得出相同的结论，因为它们运行的是相同的合约代码，提供的信息相同。(Ethereum)
当一个区块被挖出时，获胜的矿工会将这个区块发布到网络的其余部分。其他计算机将验证它们是否获得相同的结果，然后将块添加到它们自己的区块链中。这就是以太坊区块链状态的更新方式。
什么是智能合约
以太坊的货币– 以太(Ethereum – Ether)币，运行在复杂的智能合约上。智能合约(Smart Contracts)只是一个短语，用于描述可以促进货币、内容、财产、股票或任何有价物交换的计算机代码。在区块链上，这些小合约就像一个自运行的计算机程序一样运行，在满足特定条件时自动执行。它们以与编程相同的方式运行，没有任何审查、停机、欺诈或第三方干扰的可能性。
这些智能合约使用if : then系统指定只有在满足特定条件时才能交易以太币。(Ether)这就是为什么它在如此短的时间内获得如此巨大的势头的原因。毫无疑问，分析师暗示其价值将在未来一段时间内稳步上升。
智能(Smart)合约如何帮助运行以太坊(Ethereum)
智能合约实际上是存储在以太坊区块链上的小型计算机程序。它们可以通过用一些ETH资助来激活或运行。
在以太坊(Ethereum)中，可以通过创建一个包含一些代码的新账户，然后在交易中将其上传到以太坊区块(Ethereum)链来创建智能合约。上传后(Post)，以太坊区块(Ethereum)链变得更像一个点唱机。每当以太坊(Whenever Ethereum)需要运行时，将创建一个交易，其中包含向合约支付的ETH以及合约需要的更多信息。
EVM是运行在以太坊(Ethereum)网络上的图灵完备软件。它使任何人都可以运行任何程序，而不管编程语言如何，只要有足够的时间和内存。创建区块链应用程序的过程比以前更高效、更容易。以太坊(Ethereum)允许在一个平台上开发数千种不同的应用程序，而不是为每个新应用程序构建一个完全原创的区块链。
以太坊的出块时间更短，出块时间更短
(Ethereum)与比特币的 10 分钟相比，以太坊的区块时间更短，为 14 秒。这加快了将以太坊(Ethereum)交易记录到以太坊区块(Ethereum)链中的速度。
比特币(Bitcoin)中的块大小以字节为单位，而以太坊的块大小基于正在运行的合约的复杂性——它被称为每个块的Gas限制，最大值可能因块而异。
数据方面，截至目前，大多数以太坊区块大小都在 2 KB 以下，而比特币区块大小目前为 1 MB。
总而言之(To conclude)，可以说以太坊通过一个用户友好的平台提供了区块(Ethereum)链技术的力量。它正在加速世界经济的去中心化。这种去中心化的应用程序可以扰乱数百个行业，包括金融、房地产、学术界、保险、医疗保健和公共部门等。
But, where there is Success, there lies a RISK too!
以太坊的缺点：(Disadvantages of Ethereum:)
- 它是一个平台，不会像另一种加密货币那样有效。它不是分类帐；相反，它充当分类帐/超级计算机/智能合约生成器/等。对于更多的用户。虽然它提供了灵活性，但它对一次性使用的优化程度较低。
- 如果从工作量证明(Proof)到权益(Work)证明(Proof)的过渡(Stake)进展不顺利，架构中可能会出现一些关键问题，甚至可能导致系统崩溃。
Etherium has hit a high price of $900, but some say – there is still a bubble around Ethereum. Investing into it for long-term can be a risky play.
要了解有关以太坊的更多信息，请访问ethereum.org。
What is Ethereum cryptocurrency and how does it work?
By now, you probably know about Bitcoins which have been making all the news and is the biggest cryptocurrency so far. Lіkewise, we have other cryptocurrencies which are creating a lot of buzz, and оne of them is Ethereum. If Bitcoin is the king of the cryptocurrency World, then Ethereum is the queen!
Ethereum cryptocurrency is currently the second most valuable Cryptocurrency on the market. It was launched two years ago, and it is believed, that in 2018 it will be the most talked about once the excitement around Bitcoins settles down.
So let us see what is Ethereum cryptocurrency, how it works and how it differs from Bitcoin.
What is Ethereum Cryptocurrency
“Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts” – this is the perfect explanation of it. If you compare them to Bitcoins, they’re both open-source platforms based on the Blockchain technology.
Ethereum is Blockchain based
Ethereum contains blocks of data that are transactions and smart contracts. The blocks are created or mined by some participants and distributed to other participants who validate them.
Ethereum like Bitcoin is a public, permissionless network. It means anyone can download or write software to connect to the network and start creating transactions and smart contracts, validating them, and mining blocks. There is no need to log in or sign up with any other organization. They both cut down the middle man (banks) in their financial transactions. No middleman also signifies reduced costs!
PoW (Proof of Work) of Ethereum
In both bitcoin and Ethereum, mining participants form a valid block during transactions by spending electricity to find solutions to a mathematical puzzle. But Ethash which is Ethereum’s PoW math challenge works a bit differently to Bitcoin’s. It allows common hardware to be used for mining.
In a future release of the Ethereum software called Serenity, there is a plan to move it from electricity-expensive Proof-of-Work mining to a more energy-efficient Proof-of-Stake protocol called Casper.
Ethereum offers decentralized computational platform
Unlike Bitcoin that uses blockchain technology for bitcoin payments, Ethereum uses decentralized computational platforms. Decentralization is important because it eliminates single points of failure or control. It is almost impractical to make internal collusion or external attacks. There are many applications that act as the third party to connect you with some other on the basis of some logic. Many of our centralized systems could be built on this decentralized platform making those transactions trustless.
Significance of ETHER
Ethereum’s token is called Ether, shortened to ETH. This is an Ethereum’s cryptocurrency that can be traded for other cryptocurrencies or other sovereign currencies, just like BTC. The ownership of Ethereum cryptocurrency token “Ether” is tracked on Ethereum blockchain similar to the bitcoin ownership being tracked on Bitcoin’s blockchain. Technically though, their ways of tracking are different.
Ethereum Virtual machine (EVM)
Each of the mining computer runs the smart contract on their computer using their Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) as part of the mining process, and come to a conclusion about the output. Theoretically, each computer on the Ethereum network will come to the same conclusion, if all goes smoothly because they are running the same contract code with the same supplied information.
When a block is mined, the winning miner will publish the block to the rest of the network. The other computers will validate that they get the same result, then add the block to their own blockchains. This is how the state of Ethereum’s blockchain gets updated.
What are Smart Contracts
The currency of Ethereum – Ether, runs on sophisticated smart contracts. Smart Contracts is just a phrase used to describe computer code that can facilitate the exchange of money, content, property, shares, or anything of value. On blockchain, these small contracts run like a self-operating computer program that automatically executes when specific conditions are met. They run in the same way as programmed without any possibility of censorship, downtime, fraud or third-party interference.
These smart contracts use an if:then system specifying that Ether can only be traded if specific conditions can be met. This is the reason why it is gaining such a huge momentum in such a short period of time. No doubt analysts are suggesting that its value will increase steadily in coming time.
How Smart Contracts aid to run Ethereum
Smart contracts are actually little computer programs that are stored on Ethereum’s blockchain. They can be activated, or run, by funding them with some ETH.
In Ethereum, a smart contract can be created by creating a new account with some code in it and then uploading it to the Ethereum blockchain in a transaction. Post upload, Ethereum blockchain becomes more like a jukebox. Whenever Ethereum needs to run, a transaction will be created containing a payment of ETH to the contract along with some more information if the contract needs it.
EVM is a Turing complete software that runs on the Ethereum network. It enables anyone to run any program, regardless of the programming language given enough time and memory. The process of creating blockchain applications have become more efficient and easier than before. Ethereum allows developing thousands of different applications on one single platform rather than building an entirely original blockchain for each new application.
Ethereum has smaller block time and shorter blocks
Ethereum has smaller block time of 14 seconds as compared to 10 minutes of bitcoin. This speeds up Ethereum transactions being recorded into Ethereum’s blockchain.
The block size in Bitcoin is in bytes while Ethereum’s block size is based on the complexity of contracts being run – it’s known as a Gas limit per block, and the maximum can vary slightly from block to block.
Data-wise, as of now, most Ethereum blocks are under 2 KB in size while bitcoin block size is currently 1 MB.
To conclude, it can be said that with a user-friendly platform Ethereum is offering the power of blockchain technology. It is speeding up the decentralization of the world economy. This decentralized applications can disrupt hundreds of industries including finance, real estate, academia, insurance, healthcare and the public sector amongst many others.
But, where there is Success, there lies a RISK too!
Disadvantages of Ethereum:
- It is a platform and won’t be as effective as another cryptocurrency. It is not a ledger; instead, it acts as a ledger/supercomputer/smart contract generator/etc. for a lot more users. Though it gives the flexibility but makes it less optimized for one single use.
- If the transition from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake doesn’t go well off, some critical issues may arise in the architecture that could even lead to the crash of the system.
Etherium has hit a high price of $900, but some say – there is still a bubble around Ethereum. Investing into it for long-term can be a risky play.
To know more about Ethereum, visit ethereum.org.
