Over the past few years, interest in Ethereum has grown tremendously, and it’s been hailed as one of the most innovative blockchain protocols available today. However, there are still myths about it that are worth debunking before you decide to invest in Ethereum or build an application on the protocol. Here are the top 10 myths about Ethereum and why they aren’t true!

1) Ethereum is only used by criminals

• Ethereum is only used by criminals.
• There’s no way to change data once it’s been added to the blockchain.
• The coding language of blockchain technology is so difficult that it can’t be learned by anyone who doesn’t have a degree in computer science.
• Blockchains are just for cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Etherium, right?

2) Ethereum is not truly decentralized

First and foremost, Ethereum is not decentralized. It is an open-source project that has no central governance mechanism or any other form of centralized control. The code is written in such a way that it gives developers the freedom to build decentralized applications on top of the platform without having to worry about interference from anyone. However, this does not mean that Ethereum has no central authority whatsoever. In fact, Vitalik Buterin himself serves as the chief architect and primary decision maker for the project.

3) Ethereum is not private

It’s important to be aware of the fact that Ethereum is not private. If you’re trying to keep your transactions secret, you should use a different cryptocurrency like Monero or Zcash, both of which are designed for privacy. There are some ways to encrypt your data before sending it on the blockchain, but these methods can introduce weaknesses and vulnerabilities that may compromise your data in the future.

4) Smart contracts are not secure

Smart contracts are not secure. The DAO hack, which caused the loss of 3.6 million ETH in June 2016, is one of the most well-known examples of a smart contract gone wrong. The code for the smart contract was faulty, and so when someone made a withdrawal request, 3.6 million ETH were sent to that address instead of to the original address. This caused a domino effect and led to security flaws being found in other smart contracts as well.

5) Ethereum can’t scale

One of the most common myths about Ethereum is that it can’t scale. That’s simply not true. Even right now, with a few hundred thousand users, the network is still working out some kinks but people are already successfully using it to run applications. A scaling solution called Plasma has been proposed and is being developed as we speak by Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Poon. It essentially uses child chains that communicate with a root chain to reduce the load on the system without compromising security or decentralization.

6) Ethereum is not backed by anything

If you ask most people what the top ten myths about Ethereum are, they’ll likely say something like you can’t trade it in, or it’s not backed by anything. While these things may be true for Bitcoin, they’re not true for Ethereum. The truth is that as of October 2017, more than 60% of all coins and tokens on the market are ERC-20 compatible.

7) There is no use case for Ethereum

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world, and it’s growing quickly. But many people don’t understand what makes it different from Bitcoin. There are also a lot of myths about Ethereum that keep people from investing, but they needn’t worry.

8) Ethereum is a copy of Bitcoin

Ethereum is an open-source, public blockchain-based distributed computing platform featuring smart contract functionality. Ether is a cryptocurrency whose blockchain is generated by the Ethereum platform. Whereas Bitcoin aims to create a new electronic cash system, Ethereum intends to provide a decentralized platform for running applications and programming smart contracts.

9) Ethereum is too complex

Ethereum is a decentralized platform for applications that run exactly as programmed without any chance of fraud, censorship or third-party interference. It is the first general purpose smart contract and decentralized application platform to be created with a built-in fully functional programming language.

10) The price of Ethereum is too volatile

There are a lot of misconceptions about the price of Ethereum. For example, some people think that it’s too volatile to be used for everyday transactions. But if you look at how much it cost in January 2017 and how much it cost in December 2017, you can see that there has been a significant decrease in volatility. Plus, as the cryptocurrency market matures and adoption rates increase, so will the stability of cryptocurrencies like Ethereum.