Ethereum

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and the blockchain platform that introduced smart contracts, enabling developers to build decentralized applications (dApps) and the entire DeFi ecosystem. Created by Vitalik Buterin and launched in 2015, Ethereum transitioned from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake in September 2022 via "The Merge," dramatically reducing its energy consumption. Its native token, ETH, is used to pay gas fees for transactions on the network.