Overview
Ethereum is the largest smart contract platform by total value locked, developer activity, and ecosystem breadth. Launched in 2015, it introduced programmable blockchain logic through the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), enabling DeFi, NFTs, DAOs, and thousands of decentralized applications. Its September 2022 Merge from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake reduced energy consumption by over 99.9% while maintaining security.
Who Created ETH?
Ethereum was created by Vitalik Buterin and launched in 2015. It is a Layer 1 cryptocurrency using Proof of Stake consensus.
Key Use Cases
Ethereum is the foundational infrastructure layer for decentralized finance, enabling trustless lending, borrowing, trading, and yield generation without intermediaries. It hosts over $50 billion in DeFi TVL and processes stablecoin settlements worth trillions of dollars annually. Beyond finance, Ethereum underpins NFT ownership, DAO governance, identity systems, and real-world asset tokenization.
Key Features
- +Largest DeFi ecosystem — Aave, Uniswap, MakerDAO, Lido, and hundreds of protocols
- +Deflationary tokenomics via EIP-1559 — ETH supply can shrink during high activity periods
- +Proof of Stake consensus with 900,000+ validators — most decentralized PoS network
- +EVM standard is the industry default — nearly every L1 and L2 supports EVM compatibility
- +Native liquid staking via Lido, Rocket Pool, and staked ETH on Coinbase and Binance
- +Rollup-centric roadmap scales throughput while preserving decentralization and security
Official Resources
Official website: https://ethereum.org