Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform with smart contract functionality. Conceived by Vitalik Buterin in 2013 and launched in 2015, it goes beyond simple peer-to-peer payments. Its native cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), fuels transactions and computational services on the network, often called "gas."

Ethereum's innovation lies in its ability to execute "smart contracts"—self-executing agreements whose terms are directly written into code. This enables the creation of decentralized applications (dApps), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the vast decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, making Ethereum a cornerstone of Web3.$ETH