Ethereum, launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin, introduced smart contracts, enabling decentralized applications (DApps) and programmable transactions without intermediaries.

The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) executes smart contracts and enables developers to build decentralized applications (DApps) across a global network of computers.

Ether serves as the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum platform, used to facilitate transactions, pay for transaction fees (gas), and incentivize network participants.

Ethereum has faced scalability challenges due to network congestion and high gas fees during peak usage periods, leading to ongoing development efforts to improve scalability through solutions like Ethereum 2.0 and layer 2 scaling solutions.

Ethereum's programmability has catalyzed the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, offering users a wide range of financial services such as lending, borrowing, and trading without intermediaries.

Ethereum is undergoing a major upgrade to Ethereum 2.0, transitioning from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, aiming to improve scalability, security, and sustainability.