Ethereum, the world’s most valuable smart contract platform, has generated more than $10 billion in revenue in a record seven years. At this rate, Ethereum has reached this milestone faster than most leading tech companies, with the exception of Alphabet.

According to analytics platform Token Terminal, it took Ethereum about seven years to generate $10 billion in revenue.

If you compare these figures to other tech companies, such as Microsoft, you’ll find that Ethereum found acceptance quickly and its decisions were made faster. Microsoft took almost 19 years to reach this milestone, while Adobe took about 20 years.

Ethereum’s rise is partly due to its capabilities. Unlike Bitcoin, which released the first trustless and functional transaction network, Ethereum allows for the deployment of more complex protocols in a variety of industries, including finance, gaming or art.

At the time of writing, the ETH exchange rate was around $1,570 and the market value of the network was over $191 billion.

Ethereum’s revenue is generated mainly by transaction fees measured in gas. Depending on the complexity of the transaction, the network charges different gas or fees.

Simple transfers that do not require smart contracts are relatively cheaper. On the other hand, those that are done without smart contracts will cost more. The fees depend on the complexity of the transactions.

All revenue generated is distributed to the validators. They are tasked with securing the network and validating transactions, which is offset by a per-block fee and a transaction fee charged per block.

Revenue depends on network activity – the more transactions processed, the higher the fee per block. Typically, an increase in network activity leads to an increase in the gas fee due to increased demand for block space.