Ethereum: Past, Present, and Future

This bibliometric analysis of 602 Ethereum-focused publications (2017-2024) in business and economics identifies three key research clusters: contagion/volatility, investor behavior/market dynamics, and blockchain/DeFi applications. Findings reveal that exogenous macroeconomic shocks amplify volatility spillovers, while Ethereum's endogenous developments (protocol upgrades, governance) distinctively influence platform adoption and investor sentiment. By positioning Ethereum as a foundational layer connecting market speculation with real-world innovation, the study integrates disparate literature streams and establishes a research agenda addressing scaling, sustainability, and governance in decentralized ecosystems. These insights serve both scholars exploring distributed ledger economics and practitioners navigating Ethereum's evolving impact across financial systems and digital infrastructure.