Ethereum is a digital platform that adopts blockchain technology and expands its use to a wide variety of applications, while ether is its native cryptocurrency. In the world of digital finance, it is common for the cryptocurrency to be referred to as the network, although in reality, they are not the same.

The Ethereum platform, founded in 2015 by programmer Vitalik Buterin, aimed to be a tool for decentralized and collaborative applications on which smart contracts (dAPPs) can be made.

Like Bitcoin, the value of ether skyrocketed in a short period of time. In January 2016, ether was trading at around one dollar and currently has an all-time high of 4891.7 units.

After several months of delay and the fear that it would never happen, finally on September 15, 2022, Ethereum carried out its long-awaited merge or upgrade to the new level 2.0 with the promise of improving the experience for users of this cryptocurrency.

"The Merge" is a transformation in the way Ethereum processes transactions and how new Ether tokens are created.

This merge involves the combination of Ethereum's blockchain with a new separate blockchain known as proof-of-stake, which reduces the energy consumption of Ethereum's blockchain by 99.9%, according to its developers, making it more "environmentally friendly" while transactions would be cheaper.

Its supporters believe that the merge will favor Ethereum over its main rival, Bitcoin, as it could increase its usage.

In the Proof Stake process, Ether holders will lock up established amounts of their cryptocurrencies to verify new records on the blockchain, earning new coins in addition to their "staked" cryptocurrency. #EthereumFuture