When Ethereum First Appeared in 2015, few could have predicted it would soon become not just a Bitcoin alternative, but the heart of decentralized technologies. Today, people don’t just want to buy Ethereum for rubles or buy Ether as an investment — they want access to NFT, DeFi, GameFi, and other innovations. ETH has long ceased to be “just a cryptocurrency” — it is now a full-fledged ecosystem. In this article, we’ll explore how Ethereum has changed, what happened to mining, how the price evolved, which projects ETH surpassed, and what role it plays in the crypto market today.
📈 From Launch to Leadership
Ethereum was created thanks to Vitalik Buterin, who proposed the idea of a blockchain with smart contract support in 2013. The network launched in 2015 with ETH priced at only $0.75. By 2017, it reached $400, and by 2021, it exceeded $4,800. Since then, the price has fluctuated, but interest in Ethereum has never faded.
Vitalik Buterin wrote on X (Twitter):
“Ethereum is not just a network. It's the foundation for financial, legal, and social transformation.”
— Vitalik Buterin, @VitalikButerin
🚀 Ethereum as a Platform: The Power Within
Today, over 60% of all decentralized applications (dApps) are built on Ethereum — including Uniswap, Aave, and OpenSea. ETH is the backbone of the NFT revolution and a core element of the DeFi industry.
According to DefiLlama, Ethereum ranks first in Total Value Locked (TVL) with over $50 billion as of mid-2025. In comparison, its closest competitors — Tron and BNB Chain — hold only around $8–10 billion.
If you're wondering where to buy Ethereum, you're not alone. Interest remains strong regardless of market fluctuations. And with the ability to exchange Ethereum through various services — including Ethereum exchange platforms, online crypto exchanges, and crypto exchange services — ETH offers high liquidity. For those looking to sell Ethereum, top P2P platforms and crypto exchange online services offer many options.
🔄 Ethereum Mining: From GPUs to Staking
Ethereum mining as we knew it ended in September 2022 with The Merge update, transitioning the network from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake. This change:
Reduced the network's energy consumption by 99.95%
Removed the need for GPU-based mining rigs
Introduced staking — users lock up ETH to help secure the network and earn rewards
Anthony Sassano, co-founder of EthHub, wrote on X:
“The Merge marks the beginning of a new era for Ethereum. Energy savings, scalability, and network resilience are the key benefits.”
— Anthony Sassano, @sassal0x
📊 ETH Price and Ruble Withdrawals
By mid-2025, ETH has stabilized between $3,200–$3,500, influenced by geopolitical and macroeconomic factors. A major advantage is accessibility: exchanging ETH for rubles is now easy via a crypto exchange, online crypto exchange, or crypto exchange online with minimal hassle.
Withdrawing cryptocurrency in rubles or transferring crypto to a card has become increasingly accessible, thanks to the best crypto exchanges of 2025 offering competitive rates, low fees, and anonymity.
🧠 New Projects and Market Impact
Some of the projects built or scaled on Ethereum include:
Arbitrum and Optimism — top L2 solutions
EigenLayer — restaking protocol
Lens Protocol — decentralized social network
Base by Coinbase — a new rollup built on Ethereum
Ethereum directly impacts the broader crypto market. When ETH rises, so do ecosystem tokens: L2 coins, DeFi protocols, and NFT collections. It remains essential for DAO governance, DeFi participation, and decentralized identity systems (DIDs).
⚖️ What Ethereum Surpassed & Competes With
ETH has surpassed nearly every crypto project except Bitcoin in market capitalization. It has notably outpaced:
Solana — despite its speed, it struggles with centralization
BNB Chain — heavily tied to Binance and lacks full decentralization
Cardano, Polkadot, Avalanche — innovative, but far less scalable
Even Toncoin, a rapidly growing contender, hasn’t yet reached Ethereum’s scale or depth.
📌 Why ETH Is More Than Just a Crypto
Infrastructure — Supported by MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Ledger, and all major DEXs
Flexibility — Used in asset tokenization, lending, insurance, and even digital IDs
Trust — A mature network studied by hundreds of thousands of developers worldwide
Liquidity — Crypto-to-ruble online exchange with ETH is one of the most common operations
💬 Expert Opinions
Ryan Sean Adams, founder of Bankless:
“Ethereum is not just a technology. It's an alternative financial system.”
— Ryan Sean Adams, @RyanSAdams
Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest:
“Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum is a platform for innovation. We're seeing dozens of businesses being built on Ethereum.”
— Cathie Wood, @CathieDWood
🧾 Final Thoughts
Ethereum is not just a digital asset you can buy Ethereum for rubles or buy Ether for investing. It’s the foundation of Web3, DeFi, NFTs, DAOs, and decentralized identity. Over the past decade, Ethereum has proven it's not just “number two after Bitcoin,” but an entirely separate class of innovation in the crypto world.
It’s now easier than ever to exchange Ethereum, and doing an ETH-to-ruble exchange no longer requires tech skills — just a trusted Ethereum exchange or one of the best crypto exchanges. Withdrawing crypto to a card is just a few clicks away. And if you’re ready to sell Ethereum, you can do it quickly and profitably via any online crypto exchange.
As of 2025, Ethereum is more than technology. It’s a digital economy evolving with society. It has already changed the game — and the only question now is how deeply it will embed itself into our daily lives.
