Ethereum ($ETH ) – The Smart Contract Pioneer
Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin and a team of developers. Unlike Bitcoin, which was created as a digital currency, Ethereum is a decentralized platform designed to run smart contracts—self-executing code that enables decentralized applications (dApps) to function without intermediaries.
Ethereum introduced the concept of a programmable blockchain, opening the door for innovations like DeFi (Decentralized Finance), NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), and DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations). Its native currency, Ether (ETH), is used to pay for transactions, run applications, and reward validators.
In 2022, Ethereum transitioned from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) in a major upgrade called The Merge, drastically reducing its energy consumption by over 99%. Subsequent upgrades, like Shanghai and Dencun, continue to enhance scalability, speed, and lower gas fees.
Ethereum 2.0 is moving toward shard chains and layer-2 rollups, aiming to support thousands of transactions per second, making it more suitable for mass adoption.
As of 2025, Ethereum remains the foundation of Web3 innovation, empowering developers to build decentralized apps across finance, gaming, social media, and more—cementing its role as the world’s leading smart contract platform.