Xu Mingxing recalled that in its early days, Bitcoin was more like ‘Happy Beans’ within the circle.
He said that he once held an event where ‘everyone was given 1 BTC,’ a gesture he now cannot afford to repeat, though he hopes to do so again in the future.
The industry has evolved from the ‘Bitcoin era,’ where only the simplest tasks could be performed—issuing tokens on the chain—to ‘Ethereum turning blockchain into a programmable system (a blockchain operating system).’
Today, Ethereum is gradually becoming the infrastructure for Dapps, with financial-grade applications continuously being built on-chain while advancements in high-performance chains are also accelerating.
Over the past 15 years, the crypto space has shifted from basic on-chain token issuance to programmable platforms, with Ethereum emerging as the backbone for decentralized applications.
Early discussions framed Bitcoin as a simple, limited tool, while the landscape has since expanded toward complex on-chain functionality and smart contracts.
The transition marks a move from static tokens to dynamic, programmable networks.
Today, Ethereum is increasingly viewed as the blockchain operating system for Dapps, hosting financial-grade applications and enabling on-chain innovation.
At the same time, ongoing progress in scalable networks—both high-performance chains and layer-2 solutions—continues to accelerate the ecosystem.
The evolution reflects a broader shift in how computation and value are orchestrated on the blockchain, moving from simple token issuance to programmable platforms that empower a growing array of decentralized services.
It signals a long-term trend toward open, interoperable ecosystems where developers and users collaborate to redefine digital value.
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