Ethereum

Ethereum is a open-software platform that is operating using blockchain technology co-founded by Vitalik Buterin. Ethereum was released 2015. Ethereum gives a cryptocurrency called "ether" that can be moved from different accounts. While Bitcoin was designed for consumer payments, Ethereum was designed to allow for more complex party interactions called smart contracts.

Ethereum ERC Tokens

An Ethereum based token is a fungible tradable asset that operates on Ethereum's blockchain. The Ethereum Request for Comments (ERC) for tokens are a way of describing a set of functions and rules that the token should posses and follow. The three most common standards can be seen here:

ERC20

The ERC20 token is the most commonly used standard. As such, it is the most popular token for companies running an ICO.

The ERC20 token required functions are:

• Get the total token supply:

function totalSupply() public constant returns (uint);

• Get the account balance of another account:

function balanceOf(address tokenOwner) public constant returns (uint balance);

• Returns the amount which the spender is still allowed to withdraw from the owner:

function allowance(address tokenOwner, address spender) public constant returns (uint remaining);

• Send amount of tokens to address:

function transfer(address to, uint tokens) public returns (bool success);

• Allow spender to withdraw from your account, multiple times, up to the amount written. If this function is called again it overwrites the current allowance with the value:

function approve(address spender, uint tokens) public returns (bool success);

• Send amount of tokens from one address to another address:

function transferFrom(address from, address to, uint tokens) public returns (bool success);

• Triggered when tokens are transferred

event Transfer(address indexed from, address indexed to, uint tokens);

• Triggered whenever approve is called:

event Approval(address indexed tokenOwner, address indexed spender, uint tokens); }

Example ERC20 Tokens:

• EOS
• KredCoins

See Also

• dApps
• Bitcoin
• Cryptocurrencies
• Mining

Resources

• Ethereum main site
• Crypto Kitties Viral virtual cat game based on the Etherium Blockchain
• MetaMask Chrome plug in that allows It allows you to run Ethereum dApps right in your browser without running a full Ethereum node