Today we are re-sharing our Business Breakdown on Ethereum. This episode was originally released in May 2021 and became the inspiration for Web3 Breakdowns. Launched in 2015, Ethereum is an open-source, blockchain-based platform with a native cryptocurrency, Ether. Today, ETH stands as the second most valuable cryptocurrency to Bitcoin, and Ethereum is the preferred platform for blockchain projects. To help me break down Ethereum, I am joined by Justin Drake. Justin is a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation. During our conversation, we cover what differentiates Ethereum from Bitcoin, the increasing number of projects being built on the Ethereum platform, and what a shift from proof of concept to proof of stake means for Ethereum. I particularly enjoy Justin’s framework for defining money and various analogies to better conceptualize the blockchain. I hope you enjoy this breakdown of Ethereum. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.   -----   This episode is brought to you by Tegus. We created Business Breakdowns to uncover the lessons and frameworks behind every business, and that's what makes Tegus our perfect launch partner. Much of the foundational prep for these episodes starts with research on the Tegus platform.    With Tegus, you can learn everything you’d want to know about a company in an on-demand digital platform. Investors share their expert calls, allowing others to instantly access more than 20,000 calls on Coinbase, Hinge Health, Farfetch, or almost any company of interest. All you have to do is log in. If you're ready to go deeper on any company and you appreciate the value of primary research, head to tegus.co/breakdowns for a free trial.   -----   Web3 Breakdowns is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Web3 Breakdowns, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @Web3Breakdowns | @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus     Show Notes [00:03:02] - [First question] - What a blockchain is on a fundamental level [00:04:36] - A core overview of Bitcoin and the Bitcoin blockchain [00:06:40] - Proof of work and why security is so important [00:08:38] - How much miners spend to secure the network [00:10:20] - Early days of Ethereum and what separates it from Bitcoin [00:12:02] - Vitalik’s role in the rise of Ethereum [00:13:14] - What can currently be built on top of the Ethereum blockchain [00:16:28] - Gas fees and an overview of ETH as a triple point asset [00:19:42] - What generates ETH and decides its value [00:22:36] - Defining proof of stake, how it works, and staking incentives [00:25:10] - Yields from staking ETH in the form of newly minted tokens and tips [00:29:15] - Load to power ratio of the Ethereum network [00:33:38] - Terms for staking your ETH and how much is expected to be staked [00:39:19] - Sequence of events when using ETH to buy an NFT [00:43:13] - Transaction fees how they’re calculated when buying and selling ETH [00:46:11] - Pros and cons of high network demand while trying to scale the Ethereum blockchain [00:50:41] - Defining money and why Ethereum’s design makes it optimized to become an economic engine [00:55:11] - Defi Pulse - The Decentralized Finance Leaderboard [00:55:47] - Ethereum’s rigorous decentralization standards and best in class proof of stake [00:58:57] - Overview of Bitcoin Wrapped and ETH as the native currency writ large [01:01:16] - A further in-depth analogy to better understand the Ethereum network [01:05:19] - Potential competitors and new DeFi blockchain innovation [01:08:27] - Key lessons for builders when studying Ethereum and decentralized finance [01:11:03] - Bankless, Epicenter.tv, Zeroknowledge.fm, Into The Ether