# Ethereum Timeline // This is just text for the [Figma design](https://www.figma.com/file/Iz1fTa1ZKvok5MXdmRthSx/Ethereum.foundation?type=design&node-id=1719%3A1025&t=y8bC12nlhejWYr2E-1) that Tomo has drawn up for the website mockup // it's incredibly rough and needs more love, particularly in selecting the 'relevant' events for the EF from all the Ethereum history. // One good way to get a bird's eye view of Ethereum and the EF's evolution is to peruse the blog archive: // https://blog.ethereum.org/archive ## Pre-history (structure examples) ### 1936 In 1936, British mathematician Alan Turing introduced the "Universal Machine" concept in his paper "On Computable Numbers." This theoretical machine could perform any calculation or algorithm expressed as instructions, laying the groundwork for generalized programming languages, and the concept now called "Turing Completeness". ### 1979 In 1979, Ralph Merkle conceptualized the "Merkle Tree," a data structure for efficiently verifying and authenticating large data sets using *cryptographic hashing*, a technique for creating psudo-random numbers, also invented by Merkle. ### 1993 The Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) was introduced by the NSA in 1993. It provided a robust technique to generate unique hash values from varying data inputs -- robust enough to be computationally infeasible to break by even the most powerful modern computers. ### 2009 An anonymous individual or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published the paper "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System." In this paper, Satoshi combined a Merkle tree data structure with successive cryptographic hashing, creating the pattern/protocol known as a 'blockchain', as well as the *proof-of-work* consensus algorithm. The Bitcoin network launched soon after. ### 2013 Vitalik Buterin first conceived of a **generalized** blockchain computer on a long walk through San Francisco in November: >*"Eventually, I realized that the key to solving the problem once and for all was a simple insight that the field of computer science first conceived in 1935: there is no need to construct a separate infrastructure for each individual feature and implementation; rather, it is possible to create a Turing-complete programming language, and allow everyone to use that language to implement any feature that can be mathematically defined. This is how our computers work, and this is how our web browsers work; and, with Ethereum, this is how our cryptocurrencies can work."* ### 2014 Vitalik's concept of a *general-purpose blockchain* attracts many interested computer scientists, mathematicians, and developers interested in contributing to the project. The earliest Ethereum community forms, and not long after, the first prototype Ethereum clients and architecture are written in the languages *Go* and *C++*. * Devcon 0 is held in Berlin. * The Ethereum Foundation is set up in Switzerland * The Ethereum Pre-sale launches. * [Ethereum Whitepaper published](https://ethereum.org/en/whitepaper/) * ### 2015 Gavin Wood authors the first version of the [Ethereum Yellowpaper](https://ethereum.github.io/yellowpaper/paper.pdf), and for the first time the *Ethereum Virtual Machine* is formally described. >"*Ethereum, taken as a whole, can be viewed as a transaction-based state machine: we begin with a genesis state and incrementally execute transactions to morph it into some current state. It is this current state which we accept as the canonical “version” of the world of Ethereum...*" > **2. The Blockchain Paradigm, The Ethereum Yellow Paper** The *Olympic Testnet* is launched, which will eventually become the first milestone in the genesis of Ethereum. ## Ethereum ### 2015 July Ethereum begins as a Frontier— the genesis block of Ethereum mainnet is mined, and Ether, the substance of decentralized computation, is created for the first time. October The Ethereum community holds its first major conference, Devcon One, in London. This event brings together developers, researchers, and enthusiasts from across the globe to share their insights and discuss the future of Ethereum. ### 2016 * Homestead Release Devcon 2 in Shanghai * Shanghai attacks * The DAO hack ### 2017 * Byzantium upgrade (first in the 'Metropolis') * Devcon 3 in Cancun ### 2018 * The Ethereum Foundation launches the first grants program. * Constantinople upgrade (Metropolis) * Devcon 4 in Prague ### 2019 Ethereum.org redesigned Subtraction strategy outlined and published ### 2020 Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain launched in December. This is the first phase of Ethereum's transition to Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm from Proof-of-Work, aiming at enhancing security and scalability while reducing energy consumption. ### 2021 * EIP-1559 ### 2022 * **The Merge** ### 2023 * KZG ceremony
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