$ETH Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain system that features smart contract functionality. It was proposed in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin and went live on July 30, 2015. Ethereum's native cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization after Bitcoin.

Key Features of Ethereum:

Smart Contracts – Self-executing contracts with terms written in code.

Decentralized Applications (DApps) – Applications built on Ethereum without centralized control.

Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) – Executes smart contracts on the blockchain.

Proof of Stake (PoS) Consensus – Ethereum transitioned from Proof of Work (PoW) to PoS through Ethereum 2.0 (The Merge in September 2022), reducing energy consumption.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) – Many DeFi projects operate on Ethereum, enabling lending, borrowing, and trading without intermediaries.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) – Digital assets that represent ownership of unique items, often built on Ethereum's ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards.

Ethereum vs. Bitcoin

Ethereum focuses on programmability and smart contracts.

Bitcoin is primarily a store of value and digital currency.

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