Ethereum (ETH) is the largest smart-contract platform, launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin and a founding team. Beyond payments, Ethereum lets developers deploy programmable applications \u2014 DeFi protocols, stablecoins, NFTs and more \u2014 on a global, composable settlement layer.<\/p>\n
In 2022 \u201cthe Merge\u201d moved Ethereum from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, cutting energy use by roughly 99.9% and introducing staking yields. Activity has increasingly migrated to Layer-2 rollups that inherit Ethereum\u2019s security while lowering fees. ETH\u2019s value reflects its role as the network\u2019s gas token, a yield-bearing staked asset, and the base collateral of the on-chain economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ethereum (ETH) is the largest smart-contract platform, launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin and a founding team. Beyond payments, Ethereum lets developers deploy programmable applications \u2014 DeFi protocols, stablecoins, NFTs and more \u2014 on a global, composable settlement layer. In 2022 \u201cthe Merge\u201d moved Ethereum from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, cutting energy use by roughly 99.9% \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"tmp_coingecko_id":"ethereum","tmp_symbol":"ETH","tmp_rank":0,"tmp_chain":"","tmp_ticker":"","tmp_pair":"","tmp_yahoo_symbol":"","tmp_faq":"[{\"q\":\"What is Ethereum?\",\"a\":\"Ethereum is a decentralised, programmable blockchain that runs smart contracts. ETH, its native token, is used to pay transaction fees, secure the network through staking, and serve as collateral across decentralised finance.\"},{\"q\":\"What was the Ethereum Merge?\",\"a\":\"The Merge, completed in September 2022, transitioned Ethereum from energy-intensive proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, reducing its energy consumption by about 99.9% and enabling ETH holders to earn staking rewards.\"},{\"q\":\"What are Layer-2 networks?\",\"a\":\"Layer-2 rollups (such as Arbitrum, Optimism and Base) process transactions off the main Ethereum chain and post compressed proofs back to it, inheriting Ethereumu2019s security while offering much lower fees.\"},{\"q\":\"Does Ethereum have a maximum supply?\",\"a\":\"Ethereum does not have a fixed maximum supply like Bitcoin. Net issuance varies with network activity; a fee-burning mechanism introduced in 2021 can make ETH deflationary during periods of high usage.\"}]"},"class_list":["post-1000006","coin","type-coin","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.themarketperiodical.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coin\/1000006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.themarketperiodical.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coin"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.themarketperiodical.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/coin"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.themarketperiodical.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1000006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}