Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is a general-purpose smart-contract platform: developers deploy programs (“contracts”) that the network’s validators execute deterministically, subject to gas limits and fees paid in ETH. After Ethereum’s consensus upgrade described in Ethereum Foundation materials, block production is organized around proof-of-stake rather than proof-of-work, though ETH still serves as the native asset for staking economics and fee payment in typical wallet flows.
Ethereum’s programmability made it a natural home for token standards—including many USD stablecoins—where risk splits between the chain, the token contract, and the issuer.
How Ethereum differs from bitcoin for beginners
bitcoin (btc) is often described as optimizing for a narrow, robust base layer with transparent UTXOs. Ethereum optimizes for expressive on-chain computation and account-style state, which enables rich applications—and more surface area for contract bugs and MEV-related behaviors users may not see at first glance.
Related Explore pages
- Cryptocurrencies overview
- USDC and DAI (tokenized dollar designs)
- Tron (TRX) (different high-throughput L1 tradeoffs)
This page is educational and not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset.
FAQ
- Does Ethereum still use proof-of-work?
- Ethereum’s own documentation describes a transition to proof-of-stake consensus for securing the network (commonly summarized as the “Merge” era). If you read older guides, check publication dates against ethereum.org.
- What is gas?
- Gas is the fee market for computation and storage on Ethereum: you pay in ETH (or abstractions built by wallets) for transactions and contract execution. Congestion can make fees spike even when ETH price is flat.
- Are USDC and USDT “on Ethereum” the same as ETH?
- No. They are usually **token contracts** with separate issuers and risks. See [**USDC**](/explore/stablecoins/usdc/) and [**USDT**](/explore/stablecoins/usdt/).
- Is this financial advice?
- No. This content is general education only.
