> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.phala.world/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.phala.world/phalaworld-story/chronicle/2013-2018-ethereum-and-the-first-revolution-of-web3.md). # 2013-2018: Ethereum and the first revolution of Web3 Ethereum was first proposed in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin, a programmer who was a member of the bitcoin community. He once advocated to the core developers of bitcoin that the bitcoin platform should have a more sophisticated programming language for program development but did not get their consent. That was when he decided to develop a new platform for this purpose: 88. Buterin believes that many programs can achieve further development with the principle similar to bitcoin. In 2013, he wrote the *Ethereum Whitepaper* to explain the goal of building decentralized programs. In 2014, he got the finance for development through online fundraising. Investors bought Ethereum from the foundation with their bitcoins.As the core feature of Ethereum, a smart contract is applied to various blockchain platforms. Its main developers include Gavin wood, Christian Reitwiessner, Alex Beregszaszi, Liana Husikyan, Yoichi Hirai, and several other early core contributors of Ethereum. Solidity enables program developers to write smart contracts on blockchains (such as Ethereum). **Initial Coin Offering (ICO)**, also known as initial token selling and blockchain crowdfunding, is a way of financing projects of developing, maintaining, and exchanging related products or services by combining the use right and cryptocurrency with blockchain. ICO evolved from the term IPO (initial public offering) used for securities. Mastercoin is the first ICO issued in 2013, known as the venture capital revolution. Since 2016, ICO has gained popularity globally. There are at least 18 websites providing ICO issuing news and forums.The prevalence of ICO has pushed the price of bitcoin and Ethereum to a historic peak. As the market bubble is basically composed of blockchains and tokens, this stage is called "the first revolution of Web3" by post-AA historians. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.phala.world/phalaworld-story/chronicle/2013-2018-ethereum-and-the-first-revolution-of-web3.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.