$ETH

Ethereum (ETH) is a decentralized open-source blockchain system that features its own cryptocurrency, Ether. It's a popular platform for numerous other cryptocurrencies and decentralized smart contracts. Here are some key details about ETH:

*Current Price and Market Stats:*

- Current price: $2,687.87 (according to Finnhub) or $2,679.71 (according to CoinGecko)

- Market capitalization: $300.94 billion (Finnhub) or $323.27 billion (CoinGecko)

- 24-hour trading volume: $27.14 billion (Finnhub) or $27.31 billion (CoinGecko)

- Circulating supply: 120.72 million ETH

*Key Features:*

- Ethereum is a proof-of-stake blockchain that powers decentralized applications (dApps) through smart contracts

- It's the first blockchain to feature smart contracts, with the largest ecosystem of decentralized applications

- ETH is used to pay for transactions, gas fees, and as a utility token

- Stakers on the Ethereum network earn ETH as their reward for securing the network

*History and Development:*

- Ethereum was first described in a 2013 whitepaper by Vitalik Buterin

- The network went live in July 2015

- Ethereum transitioned from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake with "The Merge" in September 2022

*What's Next for Ethereum:*

- Sharding, where the database on the Ethereum blockchain is split into 64 shard chains, is expected to improve scalability and reduce gas fees ¹