Ethereum is a blockchain platform that lets people not only send digital money, but also run programs and applications on a decentralized network. Think of it as:
> Bitcoin = digital money
Ethereum = digital money + decentralized apps
🔹 Key parts of Ethereum
🔸️Ether (ETH) – The cryptocurrency used to pay fees and transactions on the Ethereum network.
🔸️Smart contracts – Self-executing programs that automatically run when conditions are met (no middlemen).
🔸️Decentralized – No single company or government controls it.
🔹 What makes Ethereum different from Bitcoin?
🔸️Bitcoin Ethereum
Mainly digital money Programmable blockchain
Simple transactions Smart contracts & apps
Fixed supply (21M) No hard cap (but controlled issuance)
🔹 What can you build or do on Ethereum?
🧠 Smart contracts
🪙 DeFi (decentralized finance: lending, trading, earning interest)
🎨 NFTs
🎮 Blockchain games
🏛️ DAOs (decentralized organizations)
🔹 How does Ethereum work today?
🔸️Ethereum uses Proof of Stake (since 2022), which is more energy-efficient than Bitcoin’s mining system.
🔸️Validators secure the network by staking ETH.
🔹 Who created Ethereum?
Proposed in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin, and launched in 2015.
🔹 Simple analogy
🔸️Bitcoin is like digital gold.
🔸️Ethereum is like a global computer anyone can use.
