Here are 5 key facts about Ethereum (ETH):
1. Smart Contract Platform: Ethereum is the first blockchain designed to support smart contracts—self-executing programs that run exactly as coded without downtime or third-party interference.
2. Created by Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum was proposed in 2013 and launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin and a team of developers to expand blockchain use beyond digital currency.
3. Ether (ETH): The native cryptocurrency of Ethereum is called Ether (ETH), used to pay for transaction fees and computational services on the network.
4. Transition to Proof of Stake: In 2022, Ethereum transitioned from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) in an upgrade called "The Merge", drastically reducing its energy consumption.
5. DeFi and NFTs: Ethereum is the backbone of decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), enabling a wide variety of decentralized applications (dApps).
