Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud, or third-party interference. These applications are built on the Ethereum platform and use its own digital currency, called ether, to run transactions.
Ethereum was first proposed in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin, a
programmer and co-founder of Bitcoin Magazine. The first version of the
Ethereum platform was released in July 2015, and it has since grown to become
one of the largest and most influential blockchain platforms in the world.
One of the key features of Ethereum is its support for
smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts with the terms of the
agreement between buyer and seller being directly written into lines of code.
This allows for the automation of complex, multi-step transactions, such as the
buying and selling of assets, without the need for intermediaries like lawyers
or brokers.
Overall, Ethereum is a powerful platform for building
decentralized applications and running smart contracts, and it has the
potential to disrupt many different industries by enabling new ways of
conducting transactions and exchanging value.
