Ethereum (ETH) is a decentralized blockchain platform that allows the creation and execution of smart contracts without a third party. Launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin, ETH became a pioneer in the world of DeFi, NFT, and dApps. Ethereum uses a native cryptocurrency called Ether (ETH) as a means to pay gas fees and transactions. In 2022, Ethereum transitioned from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake (Ethereum 2.0), making it more energy-efficient and scalable. Ethereum is the largest ecosystem after Bitcoin and continues to grow through layer-2 solutions like Arbitrum and zkSync, as well as the ETH ETF project that is currently in progress.
