Ethereum

Ethereum is an open-source, programmable blockchain on which developers can run smart contracts and decentralized applications. Its mainnet launched in 2015, and ETH is the network's native coin. A large share of stablecoins, decentralized exchanges, lending protocols and NFT marketplaces run on Ethereum or on the layer-two networks built on it. The non-profit Ethereum Foundation and many independent developer teams contribute to the ecosystem's development.

In 2022 the network moved from proof of work to proof of stake through the transition known as The Merge. Blocks are now proposed and attested by validators who stake ETH; validators that break the rules can have their stake slashed. Every transaction requires a gas fee paid in ETH according to the computation it consumes in the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The base portion of the fee is burned and removed from circulation, which, depending on network congestion, affects how the ETH supply changes. Scaling is achieved largely through layer-two networks called rollups, which write their data to Ethereum via blob space.

The ETH price may be influenced by mainnet and layer-two usage, the share of ETH that is staked, the effect of fee burning on supply, institutional access channels such as exchange-traded investment products, protocol upgrades and regulatory developments. On Lzzo.com, the Ethereum price is taken from the ETH/USDT pair on Binance and converted into dollars at Coinbase Exchange's USDT/USD rate; the chart on the page follows this dollar-denominated series.