Ethereum (ETH), the 2nd-largest cryptocurrency by market cap – known for its decentralized platform that runs smart contracts and supports decentralized applications – is seemingly unstoppable.

Not only does Ethereum have the largest ecosystem of cryptocurrency projects and solutions built on top of its blockchain, but it’s one of the few cryptocurrency projects achieving real-world adoption.

Ethereum Is Actually Achieving Real-World Adoption and It’s Serious

As previously reported by IIB, more than 50% of the billion-dollar firms included in Forbes, “Blockchain 50: Billion Dollar Babies” list are building applications on top of Ethereum or platforms derived from it.

As well, 24 of these listed companies claim to be using the Ethereum blockchain, one of which is Microsoft, who partnered with ConsenSys in 2015 to offer Ethereum Blockchain as a Service (EBaaS) on Microsoft Azure.

This integration has allowed enterprise clients and developers access to a cloud-based blockchain developer environment, along with the tools that enable them to develop smart contract-based applications.

As a result of this partnership and Ethereum’s flexibility and extensibility with developers, a multitude of Ethereum-based applications have been tested and created, making it the most developed-on blockchain to date.

Another notable example of Ethereum adoption, which is more recent than the Microsoft Azure collaboration, is the rollout of free software running on top of the public Ethereum Network for Ernst and Young’s corporate clients.

As previously reported by IIB, Ernst and Young is a professional services firm that released a new tool for its corporate clients with the purpose of helping them use the Ethereum blockchain. To get an extent of how big a deal this is, some of Ernst and Young’s biggest clients are Amazon, Apple, Google, and Snapchat.

Clearly, Ethereum is quickly establishing itself as a global leader in enterprise-level blockchain technology, and will be very hard to stop at this point.

Traditional Banking Industry Delving Into Ethereum Blockchain Technology

Not only is Ethereum achieving widespread adoption from some of the world’s largest billion-dollar companies, but more than 200 global banks are being exposed to Quorum, which is an enterprise-focused version of Ethereum.

These 200+ banks have joined JP Morgan’s permissioned variant of the Ethereum blockchain, the Interbank Information Network (IIN), which is powered by Quorum.

Therefore, Ethereum’s blockchain technology is gaining serious traction among major industry players across numerous business sectors, as well as in the traditional banking system.

Ethereum is showing no signs of slowing down and continues to dominate the industry, regardless of what naysayers say. All in all, its network effects and rate of development will be hard to stop at this point.

Do you think Ethereum will remain the #1 cryptocurrency in terms of real-world development and adoption? Or will another cryptocurrency like Tron, EOS, or Cardano take its place one day? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.