Top 5 Projects Built on Ethereum

The Ethereum network is the second biggest cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin and arguably has the most use-case projects in the crypto industry. 

When talking of decentralised finance, it currently stands on the Ethereum blockchain. For NFT and collectable marketplaces, more than half of the notable non-fungible tokens are Ethereum-NFTs. This shows the importance of Ethereum to the crypto industry as developers continue to build more projects on the network. 

Continue reading to discover what Ethereum stands for, some of the top crypto projects built on it and categories of industries that benefit by building on the Ethereum network. 

Ethereum was founded in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin and a group of other co-founders interested in bringing new changes to the crypto industry.

Ethereum is an open-source, decentralised blockchain network whose use cases go beyond digital payment. 

Ethereum complements the true vision which led to the creation of Bitcoin with a focus on creating a decentralised platform where developers could build other blockchain solutions. 

Below are some industries where the use cases of Ethereum are visible. 

Thanks to Ethereum, decentralised finance has grown to become a huge industry. The major focus of decentralised finance was to disrupt the traditional financial ecosystem and bring about positive changes. The goal of decentralised finance is to enable you to control your money without any third parties and at a reduced cost. 

The gaming industry is another sector that has significantly benefited from the Ethereum blockchain. The introduction of the Ethereum network to the gaming space has increased the number of users and profits generated from the gaming industry. Besides this, Ethereum now makes the gaming industry offer many rewards to you. With the integration of the Ethereum blockchain with some games, you can now earn real rewards from games such as cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other collectables.

While Bitcoin maintains the lead as the apex cryptocurrency, Ethereum has radically changed blockchain technology. With Ethereum, developers can now build decentralised apps (dApps). These decentralised apps help solve specific problems within the blockchain while improving blockchain technology. 

The Ethereum network changed the future of art with its success with NFTs. Before now, being an artist required you to host stressful exhibitions to earn money from your artwork. However, you can now convert your physical art to digital, place them onto the NFT marketplaces, and make huge rewards. 

Here are some of the top projects built in Ethereum, which have contributed hugely to the crypto industry. 

Aave is a lending protocol built on the Ethereum network with an open-sourced outlook. This is how Aave works. Assuming you are a lender in the protocol, you can contribute different Ethereum-based assets in a liquidity pool to earn rewards. If you are a borrower, Aave lets you borrow crypto assets when you drop some collateral. 

Apart from the lending and borrowing model, Aave also built the platform so that you (a lender) can earn passive income. The Ethereum-based assets you contribute to the platform are those you do not currently use. While the asset stays in the liquidity pool, it brings you rewards whenever someone borrows from the pool. The native token of the Aave protocol is AAVE, which you can use for governance rights. 

Uniswap is an Ethereum-based decentralised exchange that allows you to take complete control of your funds without intermediaries. With an automated liquidity protocol trading model, Uniswap allows you to send and receive cryptocurrencies without passing through any third party. 

Apart from that, Uniswap also integrates liquidity pools into the decentralised exchange, allowing you to earn additional rewards. When you supply assets to these liquidity pools to enable peer-to-peer trading, the decentralised exchange allows you to earn rewards. The native token of Uniswap is called UNI, which you can use for voting rights. 

MakerDAO is similar to Aave since it lets you lend or borrow crypto assets from liquidity, but the two protocols still differ. On MakerDAO, the fund is only disbursed using a stablecoin named DAI. When you borrow from MakerDAO, it is with this DAI that you repay them what you owe. 

But there's a twist. For the interest accrued from the loan, you will pay it back using the native token of the protocol called MKR. MKR is also the governance and utility token of MakerDAO. With this token, you can participate in making decisions that affect the Ethereum-based protocol. This provides a community-driven financial system devoid of traditional bank bottlenecks in accessing finances for important projects.

Sandbox is the NFT, metaverse, and collectable part of projects built on the Ethereum blockchain. It is a combination of gaming, metaverse, and non-fungible tokens. You can build and sell digital houses at the metaverse with the Sandbox. An inbuilt game also allows you to play games and earn in-game rewards. 

From the in-game rewards, you can sell rewards mostly in the form of NFTs at the marketplaces. It also has a governance token named SAND. With this token, you can make decisions affecting the Sandbox ecosystem. 

Curved Finance is a decentralised exchange and automated market maker (AMM) platform. With Curved Finance, you can change one cryptocurrency to another without paying huge transaction fees.

However, unlike other decentralised exchanges, Curved Finance was specifically created to help you convert one stablecoin to another seamlessly. 

This means that with Curved Finance, you can change USDT to USDC or BUSD. At Curved Finance, the protocol has a native token called CRV which you can use to participate in the decision-making of the protocol. 

Ethereum is a high-performance blockchain that has gained prominence among developers and investors due to its strong representation in the crypto space.

Ethereum is one of the top 3 blockchain networks in the crypto industry and houses most notable crypto projects, increasing demand for its native token, ETH. 

To buy ETH, you will need a cryptocurrency exchange that makes buying and selling of cryptocurrencies easy.