$ETH

The $ETH token, commonly referred to simply as ETH, is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain. Here’s a concise overview:

🔹 What is ETH?

  • Full name: Ether (symbol: ETH)

  • Platform: Ethereum

  • Launched: 2015

  • Founders: Vitalik Buterin and others

🔹 Primary Functions of ETH

  1. Gas Fees: Used to pay for transactions and smart contract operations on the Ethereum network.

  2. Staking: With Ethereum 2.0 (Proof-of-Stake), ETH is used to validate and secure the network via staking.

  3. Store of Value & Medium of Exchange: Similar to Bitcoin, ETH is also used as a digital currency.

  4. Collateral: Commonly used in DeFi (Decentralized Finance) applications as collateral.

🔹 Key Ethereum Features

  • Smart Contracts: Self-executing contracts coded on the blockchain.

  • DApps: Decentralized applications powered by Ethereum.

  • ERC-20 / ERC-721 tokens: Standards for creating fungible and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Ethereum.

🔹 Tokenomics

  • Supply: Not capped like Bitcoin; however, Ethereum implemented EIP-1559, which burns a portion of transaction fees, introducing a deflationary pressure.

  • Consensus Mechanism: Currently Proof-of-Stake (PoS) after “The Merge” in 2022.

🔹 Common Use Cases

  • Trading on exchanges (e.g., Coinbase, Binance, Uniswap)

  • Interacting with DeFi protocols (e.g., Aave, Compound)

  • Minting and trading NFTs (e.g., on OpenSea)

  • Participating in DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations)