$ETH

🌐 What is Ethereum (ETH)? A Comprehensive Guide

Ethereum (ETH) is more than just a cryptocurrency — it’s a decentralized platform that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) to run without any downtime, fraud, control, or interference from a third party. Launched in 2015, Ethereum has been a cornerstone of the blockchain revolution, standing alongside Bitcoin as a pillar of the Web3 ecosystem.

---

🔍 Quick Facts

Symbol: ETH

Launched: July 30, 2015

Creator: Vitalik Buterin (along with Gavin Wood, Joseph Lubin, and others)

Consensus Mechanism: Proof of Stake (since the Merge in 2022)

Smart Contracts: Yes

Use Cases: DeFi, NFTs, DAOs, tokenization, gaming, more

Market Cap: Second largest after Bitcoin (as of 2025)

---

📜 A Brief History of Ethereum

Ethereum was proposed in late 2013 by Vitalik Buterin, a Canadian-Russian programmer. Unlike Bitcoin, which was designed as digital gold, Ethereum was envisioned as a “world computer” — a platform where decentralized apps could run on a global blockchain.

Key milestones:

2015: Ethereum mainnet goes live.

2016: The DAO hack results in a controversial hard fork, splitting Ethereum into ETH and Ethereum Classic (ETC).

2020: Ethereum 2.0 Phase 0 launches with the Beacon Chain.

2022: The Merge — Ethereum transitions from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake, reducing its energy consumption by over 99%.

2024–2025: Proto-danksharding (EIP-4844) and rollup scalability upgrades go live, massively improving throughput.

These "rollups" bundle transactions off-chain and post compressed data to Ethereum, reducing costs and increasing speeds.