Ethereum Ecosystem Culture: Who and What to Follow

Looking to get into Ethereum but don’t know where to start? We’ve put together an Ethereum beginner’s guide to help you on your journey!

Unless you’ve been following an insensible Bitcoin maximalist on Twitter or YouTube who made millions in BTC, you can’t hate Ethereum. You may prefer other blockchains over Ethereum for transactions, but you’ve got to appreciate it for the possibilities it has unleashed for the world. 

To make sure you do not fall prey to false narratives and harbor misguided opinions, we’ve put together this list of credible resources that you can follow for some of the best Ethereum ecosystem content. 

The Ethereum Blockchain

So let’s get that sorted. Ethereum is the blockchain network that introduced the world to real-life use cases of smart contracts and gave rise to decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi). Initially, blockchains were restricted to financial transactions, but Ethereum enabled developers to build all kinds of software applications and crypto tokens to power their ecosystem. In fact, Ethereum laid the cornerstone for what we today call the decentralized internet or Web3.

To learn more about the network, make sure to check out the full guide on What Ethereum is. But this article focuses on the culture behind the Ethereum Ecosystem.

Why Ethereum Ecosystem Culture Is Important

DeFi is currently one of blockchain’s biggest innovations. And at the time of writing, there’s a mind-boggling 117.87 billion dollars invested across all decentralized finance applications. Of that, Ethereum’s dominance is over 73.34%. That’s just one of the many metrics that define the extent of innovation happening on the Ethereum blockchain. 

Ethereum Ecosystem Culture: The Best Resources To Follow

It’s humanly impossible for you to keep track of all things happening in the entire Ethereum ecosystem. But you can surely feed yourself the most interesting bits of it by following the right resources.

Web Media

When it comes to gaining the right knowledge about Ethereum, there are multiple places you can be at to get an almost unending flow of content. Here’s where you can find credible Ethereum information.

1. Vitalik.ca: Created in 2016 by the founder and face of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, Vitalik.ca is a sweet mix of technology, philosophy, and economics… all revolving around blockchain. Despite being the founder of the largest blockchain network, Vitalik is a stellar writer who has oftentimes said that his main intent behind writing content is to make the general public understand blockchain and crypto

2. ConsenSys Blog: CosenSys is popular for its Ethereum solutions and is trusted by the likes of Microsoft and Ernst & Young. The platform’s blog offers insights into many interesting aspects of Ethereum and its applications.

Podcasts

Sometimes, reading isn’t enough. And when that time comes, make sure you have a podcast to plug in to.

1. Into the Ether: Hosted by EthHub, Into the Ether is a weekly podcast that takes you through all important updates related to the Ethereum ecosystem — price swings, Ethereum-based project updates, and more — every week.

2. Epicenter: The Epicenter podcast started in 2013 and has more than 420 episodes. As the Epicenter website puts it, the podcast has been “making sense of cryptocurrencies and blockchain since before they were cool.” 

3. The Delphi Podcast: With over 235 episodes, The Delphi Podcast by the research firm Delphi Digital is an interesting podcast with an abundance of episodes focused on Ethereum. If you’re into listening to leaders from the blockchain space, you’ll quickly get hooked to The Delphi Podcast.

Newsletters

If your emails keep you busy, what’s better than to get all info and updates about Ethereum delivered right to your inbox? 

1. EthHub Newsletter: Equally informative as the ‘Into the Ether’ podcast is EthHub’s weekly newsletter. The best thing about the newsletter is that apart from sharing updates about the Ethereum ecosystem, the newsletter also shares the links to many interesting podcasts, tweets, blogs, and other content posted every week.

2. Bankless Newsletter: Bankless is a trusted name in driving the adoption of crypto and DeFi through educational content. You can subscribe to either the free or premium version of the Bankless Newsletter to get the most relevant market updates, analysis, and educational content related to Ethereum and the rest of the crypto space. To top it with more information, you can also check out the Bankless Podcast here.

3. Valid Points: The much-awaited transition of Ethereum to Ethereum 2.0 is here and so are newsletters dedicated to it. Valid Points is a weekly newsletter by CoinDesk where you get to learn about Ethereum 2.0 and “its sweeping impact on crypto markets.”

Forums and Chats

But it’s not just newlsetters and podcasts. There are also free online communities you can join to start getting involved in the crypto conversation.

1. r/Ethereum: Reddit is the go-to place if you want to discuss, debate, or just read the general opinions of people. r/Ethereum is a subreddit dedicated to all-things Ethereum, and it’s one of the best places to indulge in direct conversation with other Ethereum community members. 

Social media influencers 

Ethereum’s packed with influencers of all sorts. Some cool, some serious, some funny… but each working toward the same goal — a decentralized financial ecosystem and decentralized internet. 

1. Vitalik Buterin: Who can be a better Ethereum influencer to follow than the person who tossed the very idea of it. Vitalik Buterin is the founder of Ethereum and actively tweets about all things Ethereum. 

2. Vlad Zamfir: Part of the Ethereum team since 2014, Vlad Zamfir is hailed as one of the most eminent Ethereum researchers. His tweets are mostly philosophical or witty but his speeches and interviews (shared across different channels on YouTube) have immense value. 

3. Joseph Lubin: Joseph is the co-founder of Ethereum and founder of one of the most popular Ethereum solutions company ConsenSys. You can find him on Twitter and follow his thoughts on crypto, DeFi, Ethereum, and more throughout the day.

4. Taylor Monahan: Founder of the ERC20 asset dashboard, MyCrypto, Taylor Monahan is a popular leader in the Ethereum community. To make sure you don’t miss out on her interesting opinion on crypto and blockchain, follow her on Twitter.

5. Evan Van Ness: Although mildly popular, Evan is a fun person to follow if you like Ethereum content. Evan also has a portal called Week in Ethereum News that documents the latest updates of the Ethereum network.

Books and readings

Those really into reading know that long-form articles, white papers, and books can be the best resources to learn from. If you are one such person, here are our recommendations for you.

1. Ethereum white paper: Vitalik Buterin originally published the Ethereum white paper in 2013, and even today, it is the best source to get all the raw information about the network. A must-read, we’d say.

2. Mastering Ethereum: Written by blockchain pioneers Andreas M. Antonopoulos and Dr. Gavin Wood, Mastering Ethereum is the perfect book for those who have come to the next level and now want to build dApps on the Ethereum network. If you’re planning for it, that’s your place to start.

Your Ethereum beginner’s guide, your digital freedom

With time, Ethereum will face more and more competition from other blockchains, but its massive community and the magnitude of innovative applications built on it will keep Ethereum in the race. As the network expands, go on your learning journey and join the growing community to start leveraging the benefits blockchain can offer everyone across the globe.

Knowledge is power – so keep on learning! If you enjoy getting to grips with crypto and blockchain, check out our School of Block video Ethereum Layer 2.