SuperEx Education Series: Ethereum — The Origin of Smart Contracts and the Soul of Web3

Today’s lesson takes us back to the fundamentals. The emergence of Ethereum stands as one of the most significant milestones in blockchain history — it ushered the technology into the era of smart contracts. In other words, the vibrant ecosystem we see today all began with Ethereum and its smart contract innovation.

If Bitcoin is “digital gold,” then Ethereum is the “operating system of the digital world.” It not only upgraded blockchain from a “ledger system” to a “programmable network” but also sparked the birth of entire industries: DeFi, NFT, DAO, GameFi, and beyond.

Without Ethereum, there would be no Web3 as we know it.

From Bitcoin to Ethereum: The Second Awakening of Blockchain

In 2015, a 19-year-old Canadian programmer named Vitalik Buterin (V God) introduced the concept of Ethereum. He believed that while Bitcoin solved the problem of decentralized money, it couldn’t handle more complex logic or applications. So he imagined a new kind of blockchain — one that could not only store value but also execute code.

This was Ethereum’s greatest innovation: the smart contract.

In traditional Internet systems, trust depends on intermediaries — banks, companies, platforms. But on Ethereum, trust is written into code. Smart contracts can automatically execute trades, distribute rewards, enable voting, and manage governance — all without a middleman.

From that moment, blockchain evolved from a “financial instrument” into a network of value.

Smart Contracts: Turning Trust into Code

The concept of smart contracts was first proposed in the 1990s by computer scientist Nick Szabo, but it wasn’t until Ethereum that it became reality. Before Ethereum, blockchains were merely digital ledgers — able to record transactions but unable to act.

Smart contracts gave blockchain its agency — no longer just recording, but executing logic, triggering rules, and building decentralized ecosystems.

Simply put:
Smart Contract = “If A happens, automatically execute B.”

For example:

If an NFT is purchased → automatically transfer tokens to the seller.
If a user stakes ETH for a certain period → automatically distribute rewards.
If a proposal passes community voting → automatically trigger governance actions.

It works like a vending machine — once you insert a coin, the machine automatically dispenses the product. No one can interfere, and no one can default. More importantly, the machine’s rules are public and transparent — anyone can audit the source code to verify fairness.

This embodies the principle of “Code is Law.” Once deployed on-chain, no one can alter it. This makes smart contracts “trustless yet more trustworthy.”

Developers use the Solidity language to write these contracts on Ethereum, creating a vast world of DApps (Decentralized Applications) — spanning finance, gaming, governance, and art.

Uniswap’s automated market maker,
Aave’s lending protocol,
Curve’s stablecoin exchange —
all powered by smart contracts.
For users, a smart contract is a black box of trust — you don’t have to trust who’s on the other side, only that the contract works.
For developers, it’s a tool of productivity — converting business logic directly into automated rules.

No supervision, no arbitration — the blockchain itself becomes the judge.

That’s why Ethereum is often called the “World Computer.”

It’s not just a network but a distributed supercomputer anyone can access and audit.
Every smart contract is a “program” on this computer.
Every transaction is a “computation.”

Smart contracts aren’t an add-on feature — they are the soul of the Ethereum ecosystem. They transformed blockchain from a “decentralized ledger” into a decentralized operating system — the very foundation of Web3.

Ethereum’s Technical Structure: From Accounts to the Virtual Machine

To understand Ethereum’s power, we need to grasp its key components:

1. Account Model

Unlike Bitcoin’s UTXO model, Ethereum uses an account-based system, divided into:

EOA (Externally Owned Account): controlled by private keys;
Contract Account: controlled by smart contract code.

This design enables greater flexibility — accounts can not only transfer value but also interact with smart contracts.

2. EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine)

The EVM is Ethereum’s core brain — the execution environment for all smart contracts. It defines how programs run, how resources are billed, and how errors are handled.

Every contract execution consumes Gas, Ethereum’s resource metering unit. Gas prevents abuse and ensures that every on-chain action carries a cost. The more complex the operation, the more Gas it consumes — pushing developers to optimize for efficiency.

3. Gas Mechanism & Transaction Fees

Gas represents the computational cost of transactions. Fees are calculated as:
Total Fee = Gas Limit × Gas Price (in Gwei)
(1 Gwei = 0.000000001 ETH).
This mechanism filters spam transactions and maintains network efficiency.

4. From PoW to PoS: Ethereum’s Great Migration

Initially, Ethereum used Proof of Work (PoW) like Bitcoin. But as the network expanded, energy consumption became a growing concern.

Then came The Merge — the historic upgrade that transitioned Ethereum from PoW to PoS (Proof of Stake).

In PoS, validators don’t mine using power-hungry hardware — they stake ETH to secure the network. This shift reduced energy usage by 99.95%, while enhancing both security and decentralization.

The Merge marked the dawn of blockchain’s green era.

The Rise of Layer 2: Unlocking Scalability

Ethereum’s biggest challenges have always been speed and cost. On-chain operations are expensive; even a basic transfer can cost several dollars, and during DeFi booms, Gas fees were unbearable.

That’s where Layer 2 (L2) solutions came in.

Core logic:

Treat Layer 1 as the settlement layer,
Layer 2 as the execution layer,
Let the main chain stay secure while L2 handles throughput.

Think of it as Ethereum’s “express highway.” Computations and transactions happen off-chain on Layer 2, while only the results are finalized on the mainnet. This drastically reduces congestion without compromising decentralization.

Main Layer 2 Approaches:

Optimistic Rollups (e.g., Optimism, Arbitrum)
Assume transactions are valid unless challenged. High throughput, low cost — ideal for active DeFi/NFT use.
ZK Rollups (e.g., zkSync, StarkNet)
Use zero-knowledge proofs to verify correctness without re-execution — balancing efficiency and security. Often seen as the ultimate form of L2 scaling.
Validium / Plasma
Early off-chain storage models with on-chain validation, now largely replaced due to weaker data availability.

Layer 2 isn’t just a technical upgrade — it’s an economic revolution. It democratizes Ethereum, making microtransactions, games, social apps, and payments feasible for everyone.

And the competition among L2s continuously fuels Ethereum’s innovation — from “single-chain bottleneck” to “multi-chain parallelism,” from high-Gas pain to “pennies per transaction.”

Today, many DeFi and GameFi booms start not on the mainnet but on Layer 2.

In short: Layer 2 isn’t an accessory — it’s Ethereum’s future self, the key to becoming the world’s true decentralized operating system.

Ethereum Standards: The Language of ERC

Ethereum’s strength also lies in its open standardization system — ERC (Ethereum Request for Comment).

These standards define how developers build assets, protocols, and governance systems on the network.

Common standards include:

ERC-20: Fungible token standard (e.g., USDT, UNI)
ERC-721: Non-fungible token standard (NFTs)
ERC-1155: Hybrid multi-asset standard
ERC-4626: Yield-bearing asset interface

Thanks to ERCs, projects across Ethereum “speak the same language,” enabling seamless interoperability and rapid ecosystem expansion.

Conclusion

Ethereum has never been just a blockchain — it’s a philosophy. It stands for openness, transparency, and programmability. In its ecosystem, anyone can build their own world with just a few lines of code.

As Vitalik Buterin said:

“We are rewriting trust with code, and reshaping the world through decentralization.”

That is the true meaning of Ethereum — not an endpoint, but the starting point of every Web3 dream.