$ETH Ethereum is a decentralized, blockchain-based platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). It serves as the backbone for various industries, including:
- *Decentralized Finance (DeFi)*: Providing financial services and opportunities
- *Gaming*: Enabling the development of blockchain-based games
- *Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)*: Facilitating the creation and trading of unique digital assets
*Key Components:*
- *Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)*: Executes smart contracts and enables the deployment of decentralized applications
- *Solidity*: A programming language used to write smart contracts on the Ethereum network
- *Ether (ETH)*: The native cryptocurrency that powers the Ethereum network and facilitates transactions
*Notable Features:*
- *Proof-of-Stake (PoS)*: Ethereum's consensus algorithm, which reduces energy consumption and improves security
- *The Merge*: A significant upgrade that transitioned Ethereum from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS), reducing energy consumption by over 99.9% ¹
- *ERC-6551 Token Bound Accounts*: A token standard that enables NFTs to act as smart contract accounts, improving their usability ²
*Ethereum Ecosystem:*
- *Decentralized Applications*: Built on the Ethereum network, these applications provide various services and opportunities
- *Value Locked in DeFi*: Over $122.7 billion is locked in DeFi applications on the Ethereum network
- *Transaction Volume*: Ethereum processes millions of transactions daily, with an average transaction cost of $0.0017 ³
