What is Ethereum? It was originally intended as a blockchain software platform, but it has since become the second most popular cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. Vitalik Buterin designed it to build and run decentralised apps (DApps) using smart contracts. This possibility made Ethereum’s Ether tokens valuable enough to compete with dedicated currencies. Ether and other tokens based on its protocol could be accessed through different wallets, such the official Ether Mist or the more lightweight MyEtherWallet. An outstanding feature of Ethereum is its capacity for growth and change.
This can be both a strength and a weakness. Some changes caused controversy. In 2016, the introduction of a withdrawal mechanism after a hack caused a part of the community to create Ethereum Classic. A more recent change was the move from Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism to Proof-of-Stake. Through all those changes, Ethereum’s value remained mostly solid thanks to its great variety of uses.
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