#TradingPairs101 **Ether (ETH)** is the native cryptocurrency of the **Ethereum** blockchain, created by **Vitalik Buterin** in 2015. Ether is primarily used to pay transaction fees (gas) and power smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApp) on the Ethereum network. Unlike Bitcoin, which is seen as a store of value, Ether is used as "fuel" for an entire digital ecosystem. With the **Merge** upgrade in 2022, Ethereum transitioned to a **Proof-of-Stake** consensus mechanism, drastically reducing energy consumption. Ether is the second cryptocurrency by market capitalization and is central to the development of Web3, decentralized finance (DeFi), and NFTs.