$ETH

Ethereum ($ETH) is a leading blockchain platform and cryptocurrency, created by Vitalik Buterin in 2015. Unlike Bitcoin, which primarily serves as digital money, Ethereum is designed for decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts — self-executing agreements coded directly onto the blockchain. This versatility has made Ethereum the backbone of decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and countless Web3 innovations. $ETH, the native token, is used to pay transaction fees ("gas") and power activities within the network. In 2022, Ethereum transitioned from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) through "The Merge," significantly reducing its energy consumption and laying the foundation for greater scalability and security. Ethereum continues to evolve, with upgrades like sharding on the roadmap, aiming to increase transaction speeds and lower costs. As one of the most influential projects in the crypto space, $ETH remains central to blockchain's future.

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