Ethereum Celebrates a Decade: Commemorating Ten Significant Achievements Along the Way
Ethereum's 10th Anniversary and the Upcoming Fulu-Osaka Hard Fork
Ethereum, the largest cryptocurrency yet to set a new all-time high in this cycle, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Since its mainnet launch on July 30, 2015, Ethereum has evolved into the largest ecosystem in the blockchain world, onboarding thousands of decentralized applications (dApps) and originating dozens of Layer-2 networks.
The anniversary events included a 24-hour free "Torch" Non-Fungible Token (NFT) minting to commemorate Ethereum’s journey, reflecting ongoing community engagement and support for decentralized innovation. The Ethereum Foundation remains committed to ecosystem development through programs that foster decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenization, digital ownership, and cross-regional community collaboration.
Post-anniversary, the major upcoming milestone is the planned activation of the Fulu-Osaka (Fusaka) hard fork in late Q4 2025. This upgrade is a key next step in Ethereum’s ongoing development and technical evolution.
The Fulu-Osaka hard fork will introduce Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS) and change the way Ethereum Virtual Machine handles smart contract bytecode to make it more performant and cost-effective.
Ethereum's history is marked by significant hard forks, each introducing new features and improvements. The Byzantium hard fork, activated on Oct. 16, 2017, as part of Ethereum's Metropolis upgrade phase, aimed to improve network security, privacy, and scalability, as well as prepare the protocol for future consensus changes. It also introduced features to make smart contract development straightforward and cut block rewards from 5 ETH to 3 ETH.
The Constantinople hard fork, activated on Feb. 28, 2019, at block 7,280,000, as part of the Metropolis transition, aimed to improve network efficiency, performance, and future-proofing for Ethereum 2.0.
The Merge, Ethereum's transition from proof of work to proof of stake, was completed on Sept. 15, 2022, at block 15,537,393. It combined the mainnet with the Beacon Chain, marking the end of Ethereum mining and the start of a more energy-efficient consensus model.
EIP 1559, introduced by the London hard fork in August 2021, rewrote Ethereum's network fees design, introducing base fees and miner tips, and pioneered periodical base fee burns.
The Prague-Electra hard fork, activated on May 7, 2025, included 11 EIPs focused on functionality, security, operability, and cost-efficiency for Ethereum and its second-layer solutions. Its main changes, EIP-7251 and EIP-7702, paved the way for raising maximum validator balance to 2,048 ETH and for blurring the line between smart contracts and on-chain accounts on Ethereum.
The Cancun-Deneb upgrade, activated on March 13, 2024, introduced EIP-4844, a new transaction type called "blobs," which improved data availability and significantly reduced Layer-2 transaction fees.
Ethereum underwent a hard fork on July 20, 2016, splitting the chain into Ethereum (ETH) with restored funds and Ethereum Classic (ETC), which preserved the original chain and code.
The Byzantium hard fork also introduced features to make smart contract development straightforward. Major Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) included EIP-649, EIP-658, EIP-197, and EIP-198, which introduced features to enhance privacy tech on Ethereum.
In 2025, Bitcoin (BTC), BNB, and XRP all set new records. However, Ethereum (ETH) remains the largest cryptocurrency that hasn't set a new all-time high in this cycle yet. The focus for the near future revolves around increasing transaction speed, enhancing privacy, improving user-friendliness of wallets, and expanding Layer-2 scaling solutions such as Arbitrum and Optimism. These plans align with Vitalik Buterin’s vision for a faster, more private, and more accessible Ethereum network in the coming years.
In summary, the Fulu-Osaka hard fork is the immediate technical milestone after the anniversary, while the broader roadmap emphasizes scalability, privacy, speed, and usability improvements to maintain Ethereum’s leadership in the blockchain space.
- The Ethereum ecosystem, a decentralized innovator since its mainnet launch in 2015, continues to grow with thousands of dApps and numerous Layer-2 networks.
- The anniversary celebrations included a 24-hour Torch NFT minting, symbolizing ongoing community engagement and support for decentralized innovation.
- The Ethereum Foundation champions ecosystem development, fostering DeFi, tokenization, digital ownership, and cross-regional community collaboration.
- Post-anniversary, the Fulu-Osaka hard fork is the key next step in Ethereum's development, scheduled for activation in late Q4 2025.
- PeerDAS, introduced in Fulu-Osaka, will change the way Ethereum Virtual Machine handles smart contract bytecode for improved performance and cost-effectiveness.
- Ethereum's history is marked by significant hard forks, each introducing features and improvements, such as the Byzantium fork in 2017 that aimed to enhance network security, scalability, and smart contract development.
- The Constantinople hard fork in 2019 aimed to improve network efficiency, performance, and future-proofing for Ethereum 2.0.
- The Merge, completed in 2022, transitioned Ethereum from proof of work to proof of stake, marking the end of mining and the start of a more energy-efficient consensus model.
- EIP 1559, introduced by the London hard fork in 2021, rewrote Ethereum's network fees design, introducing base fees and miner tips, and pioneered periodical base fee burns.
- The Prague-Electra hard fork in 2025 increased maximum validator balance and blurred the line between smart contracts and on-chain accounts on Ethereum.
- The Cancun-Deneb upgrade in 2024 introduced EIP-4844, a new transaction type called "blobs," improving data availability and significantly reducing Layer-2 transaction fees.
- In 2016, Ethereum underwent a hard fork, splitting into Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC), each with different objectives.
- Bitcoin (BTC), BNB, and XRP set new records in 2025, but Ethereum (ETH) still hasn't set a new all-time high in this cycle. Focus areas for the near future include increasing transaction speed, enhancing privacy, improving wallet usability, and expanding Layer-2 scaling solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism.
