Bitcoin Emergence (2009): The release of Bitcoin in 2009 marked a significant milestone by introducing blockchain technology—a decentralized, immutable ledger—as the underlying infrastructure for a digital currency.

Ethereum and Smart Contracts (2015): Ethereum, launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin, introduced the concept of smart contracts. These are self-executing contracts with the terms directly written into code, enabling decentralized applications (dApps) to be built on its blockchain.

Decentralized Applications (dApps) Growth (2016-present): Following Ethereum's launch, there was an explosion of dApps and decentralized protocols addressing various sectors such as finance (DeFi), gaming, social networks, and supply chain management. These applications leverage blockchain's security, transparency, and decentralization.