Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain with smart contract functionality. Ether is the native cryptocurrency of the platform. Among cryptocurrencies, ether is second only to bitcoin in market capitalization. It is open-source software.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in 2015
Ethereum enthusiasts gather for a Merge party in San Francisco in 2022.
A blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of records (blocks) that are securely linked together via cryptographic hashes. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. Since each block contains information about the previous block, they effectively form a chain, with each additional block linking to the ones before it. Consequently, blockchain transactions are irreversible in that, once they are recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without altering all subsequent blocks.
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin transactions per day (January 2011 – January 2021)
Blockchain panel discussion at the first IEEE Computer Society TechIgnite conference