$ETH In August 2014, Ethereum launched its native token, ether, through an initial coin offering (ICO). Some 50 million ETHs were sold at a price of $0.31 per coin, raising over $16 million for the project.

Unlike many other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum’s cryptocurrency has an unbounded supply, meaning there is no limit to how many ether can enter circulation.

According to the project’s official website, the annual inflation rate of ether is about 4.5%. Block rewards have been reduced two times since the first ever Ethereum block was mined. That block is known as the genesis block. The reductions in block rewards aren’t programmed into Ethereum’s code like Bitcoin’s halving events are. Instead, members of the community propose changes, called “Ethereum Improvement Proposals,” or EIPs, and the rest of the community votes on whether to include the proposals in updates to Ethereum’s software code. Here is a breakdown of ether’s issuance schedule to date.

Block 0 to Block 4,369,999: 5 ether

Block 4,370,000 to 7,280,000: 3 ether (changed via EIP-649)