$ETH Developed by Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum is a public, open-source platform based on Blockchain that offers smart contracts. It would be a mistake to define Ethereum as a cryptocurrency or to confuse it with Ether, a cryptocurrency of the Ethereum system. Ethereum was created as a platform that has the ability for users to create programs without the involvement of intermediaries, including central servers to store information that expose them less to the abuses of intermediaries and authorities. Ethereum came into effect on July 30, 2015, and is the second most important currency in the market with a capitalization of 45 billion dollars. The latest news about Ethereum mainly refers to the transition to Serenity —the last phase after the development of Ethereum— as well as changing the concept of Ether mining from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake to reduce the energy cost of the process.