Ethereum
Created by Vitalik Buterin and co-founders
Ethereum is a decentralized, blockchain-based platform launched in 2015 that supports smart contracts, allowing developers to build and run programmable applications on top of its network and native currency, ether.
Definition
Ethereum is a decentralized, blockchain-based platform launched in 2015 that supports smart contracts, allowing developers to build and run programmable applications on top of its network and native currency, ether.
Overview
Ethereum extended the idea behind Bitcoin from a payment ledger into a general-purpose, programmable blockchain. Its core execution environment, the Ethereum Virtual Machine, runs smart contracts — code deployed to the chain that executes deterministically and is verified by every participating node. This programmability enabled an entire ecosystem of decentralized applications, including decentralized exchanges, lending protocols, and NFT marketplaces, collectively often described as part of Web3. In 2022, Ethereum completed 'The Merge,' transitioning its consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, substantially cutting the network's energy consumption while preserving its decentralized security model. Ether, Ethereum's native cryptocurrency, is used to pay transaction fees (commonly called 'gas') for computation and storage on the network, as well as functioning as a tradable and stakeable asset in its own right.
Key Features
- Turing-complete smart contract execution via the Ethereum Virtual Machine
- Native cryptocurrency, ether, used for transaction fees and staking
- Proof-of-stake consensus since the 2022 Merge upgrade
- Large ecosystem of decentralized applications and developer tooling
- Standardized token formats enabling interoperable tokens and NFTs
- Layer-2 scaling networks built on top to reduce fees and increase throughput
- Open-source and permissionless — anyone can deploy a contract