Ethereum

A decentralized blockchain platform that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps).

Launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin and others, Ethereum expanded beyond Bitcoin's vision of digital currency to create a programmable blockchain. It allows developers to build and deploy smart contracts—self-executing code that runs exactly as programmed without intermediaries.

Key Features

• Smart Contracts: Programmable agreements that execute automatically when conditions are met
• EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine): The runtime environment for smart contracts on Ethereum
• Native Currency (ETH): Used to pay for transactions and computational services
• Proof of Stake: Transitioned from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake in 2022 (The Merge)

Why It Matters

Ethereum is the foundation for most of the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, NFT marketplaces, and Web3 applications. It's the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and the most widely used platform for issuing tokens.

Most stablecoins (like USDC, USDT, DAI) and other tokens run on Ethereum using the ERC-20 standard, making it the backbone of the modern crypto economy.