On this day ten years ago—July 30, 2015—a revolutionary chapter in blockchain history began.

The Ethereum genesis block was mined at exactly 15:26 UTC, launching a decentralized platform that would redefine what blockchain technology could do. Unlike Bitcoin, which focused on peer-to-peer digital currency, Ethereum introduced a new vision: programmable money through smart contracts.

Ethereum was the brainchild of Vitalik Buterin, a teenage developer who believed blockchains could be more than ledgers—they could be computation platforms. Joined by co-founders Gavin Wood, Joseph Lubin, Charles Hoskinson, and others, Buterin helped create a decentralized system where anyone could build applications—called…