$ETH Ethereum (ETH) is an open-source blockchain platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). It was proposed in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin and launched in 2015. Unlike Bitcoin, which focuses on being a digital currency, Ethereum is designed to be a programmable infrastructure. Its native cryptocurrency, Ether, is used to pay for transactions and services on the network. With the 'The Merge' update in 2022, Ethereum transitioned its consensus mechanism from proof of work (PoW) to proof of stake (PoS), improving energy efficiency. This solidified its position as one of the leading blockchains for decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and more.