Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain platform that was proposed in late 2013 by programmer Vitalik Buterin and was crowdfunded in 2014. Officially launched in 2015, Ethereum allows developers to build and deploy smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) on its network.
Unlike Bitcoin, which primarily functions as a digital currency, Ethereum’s flexibility comes from its Turing-complete programming language, allowing developers to create complex and self-executing contracts. This has led to the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other innovative applications.
Ethereum has undergone significant upgrades, including the transition to Ethereum 2.0, which aims to improve scalability, security, and energy efficiency by shifting from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake.
