Ethereum ETH

Ethereum (ETH) is an open-source Layer 1 blockchain and programmable platform designed for smart contracts and decentralized applications. The concept was proposed by Vitalik Buterin in 2013, and Ethereum mainnet officially launched on 30 July 2015.

ETH, or ether, is the native asset of the Ethereum network. It is used to pay transaction fees known as gas, secure the network through staking and interact with applications and smart contracts across the Ethereum ecosystem.

Ethereum uses Proof-of-Stake consensus. Validators stake ETH to participate in block validation and network security, replacing the Proof-of-Work mining system used by Ethereum before The Merge in September 2022.

The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) provides a general-purpose execution environment for smart contracts. Ethereum supports a large ecosystem spanning decentralized finance, stablecoins, NFTs, gaming, decentralized organizations and other blockchain-based applications. A growing ecosystem of Layer 2 networks also extends Ethereum by processing transactions outside the main execution layer while settling back to Ethereum.

ETH does not have a fixed maximum supply. New ETH is issued as validator rewards while a portion of transaction fees is permanently burned under EIP-1559. As a result, total ETH supply is dynamic and can increase or decrease depending on network issuance and activity.

Ethereum is decentralized and does not have a CEO or single controlling organization. Protocol development is coordinated openly across developers, researchers, client teams and the wider Ethereum community, with organizations such as the Ethereum Foundation supporting ecosystem development.