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%Ethereum (CRYPTO: $ETH ), the second largest %Cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary on the cusp of an all-time high.

Officially launched in 2015 as a blockchain for smart contracts, Ethereum has grown in fits and starts over the past decade to become the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) %Blockchain.

Today, Ethereum has nearly $85 billion U.S. in total value locked (TVL). It is also riding a wave of momentum, with its price having gained 51% in the past month.

ETH is currently trading at $3,780 U.S., within spitting distance of its all-time high of $4,878.26 U.S. reached on Nov. 10, 2021.

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum's co-founder, originally circulated an early version of a white paper on Ethereum in 2013. It promised faster and more secure transactions over a blockchain.

Based on the white paper, Ethereum initially raised $18.3 million U.S. in its initial coin offering and has grown steadily since then, weathering various crypto winters along the way.

Ethereum-based projects have also had to contend with cyberattacks and skepticism among investors.

And while ETH has failed to catch or surpass %Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC ), the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, it has managed to outpace all other altcoins by a wide margin.

Ethereum was trading as low as $10 U.S. at the start of 2017. Now, many analysts are forecasting that its price could surpass $10,000 U.S. within the next 12 months.

ETH is getting a tailwind from the popularity of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which were approved in the U.S. in 2024 and have attracted both individual and institutional investors to the cryptocurrency.