Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain designed to run smart contracts and decentralized applications. It uses an account-based state model and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to execute contract code deterministically across the network.

ETH, or ether, is Ethereum's native asset. It is used to pay gas fees, stake validators, settle value, and interact with DeFi, NFT, and DAO applications.

Ethereum launched with proof of work and moved to proof of stake during The Merge in 2022. Validators now propose and attest to blocks by staking ETH, and malicious behavior can be penalized through slashing.

Ethereum's base layer prioritizes security and decentralization, so high demand can make transactions expensive. Much of its scaling roadmap uses rollups and data-availability improvements to move execution activity to layer-2 networks while settling back to Ethereum.