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Ethereum: history, founders and key events

From Jul 30, 2015 to today, every major rally, crash and upgrade, each with a dated, sourced price.

Open the interactive timeline
11dated events
9years covered
3787daily closes charted
25source links

Latest close in our data: $2,474 (Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily close, 2026-10-14).

LaunchedJul 30, 2015
ConsensusProof of stake (since Sep 2022)
Supply capNone fixed
Slot time12 seconds

Origin story

Ethereum started as a whitepaper Vitalik Buterin circulated in late 2013, when he was 19. His idea was a blockchain with a built in programming language, so people could write their own rules (smart contracts) instead of waiting for a new coin for every use.

A group of co founders, including Gavin Wood, who wrote the technical Yellow Paper, Joseph Lubin and Charles Hoskinson, helped turn the idea into a project. A public crowdsale ran from July to September 2014 and raised roughly 31,000 BTC, managed by the Swiss based Ethereum Foundation.

The first live release, called Frontier, launched on July 30, 2015. Since then Ethereum has changed its rules through a series of named network upgrades, the biggest being the Merge in 2022, which moved it from mining to proof of stake.

Founders: Vitalik Buterin, with Gavin Wood, Joseph Lubin, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio, Mihai Alisie, Amir Chetrit and Jeffrey Wilcke.

Ethereum price, USD
launchrallycrashupgradelegalforkoutagemilestone

Source: Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily closes 2016-05-18 to 2026-10-14. Fetched Oct 14, 2026 from free public APIs. Click a dot for the event and its price on that day.

Browse by year

201420152016201820202021202220232024

Key events

  1. Jul 22, 2014launch
    Ether crowdsale
    The Ethereum presale opens and later raises about 31,000 BTC.
  2. Jul 30, 2015launch
    Frontier mainnet launch
    The first live version of Ethereum goes online.
  3. Jun 17, 2016crash
    The DAO hack $15.65 (Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily close, 2016-06-17)
    An attacker drains about 3.6 million ETH from The DAO.
  4. Jul 20, 2016fork
    DAO hard fork and Ethereum Classic $12.50 (Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily close, 2016-07-20)
    Ethereum forks to return DAO funds; the original chain lives on as ETC.
  5. Jan 13, 2018rally
    ICO boom peak $1,386 (Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily close, 2018-01-13)
    Ether reaches its highest close of the first crypto boom.
  6. Dec 1, 2020upgrade
    Beacon Chain launches $586.03 (Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily close, 2020-12-01)
    Ethereum's proof of stake chain starts running alongside mining.
  7. Aug 5, 2021upgrade
    London upgrade and EIP-1559 $2,829 (Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily close, 2021-08-05)
    A new fee system starts burning part of every transaction fee.
  8. Sep 15, 2022upgrade
    The Merge $1,473 (Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily close, 2022-09-15)
    Ethereum switches from mining to proof of stake.
  9. Apr 12, 2023upgrade
    Shanghai and Capella: staking withdrawals $1,919 (Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily close, 2023-04-12)
    Stakers can finally withdraw their staked ether.
  10. Mar 13, 2024upgrade
    Dencun and proto danksharding $4,008 (Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily close, 2024-03-13)
    EIP-4844 makes data far cheaper for layer 2 networks.
  11. Jul 23, 2024legal
    Spot ether ETFs start trading $3,483 (Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily close, 2024-07-23)
    US spot ether exchange traded products open for trading.

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Updated

Sources

Facts written in our own words. Last checked Oct 14, 2026.