Ethereum's current real-time price is $2,439.09**, with a 24-hour trading volume of **$5,366,044,475. The price has decreased by 0.07% in the last 24 hours but increased by 1.09% over the past week. Ethereum's market capitalization stands at $294,441,053,675, with a circulating supply of 120,717,389 ETH tokens. Currently, Ethereum holds the #2 rank in the cryptocurrency market.
All data and prices are updated in real time. The most active and popular exchanges for trading ETH include 👉 Binance, 👉 KuCoin, and 👉 Kraken. For safer storage, consider hardware wallets like Ledger and Trezor.
What Is Ethereum (ETH)?
Ethereum (ETH) is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain ecosystem. Ethereum is an open-source blockchain platform offering advanced functionalities such as smart contracts, decentralized applications (dApps), and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Often dubbed the "world computer," Ethereum enables fully decentralized control over blockchain-based projects without intermediaries.
Key Features:
- Smart Contracts: Self-executing agreements automating transactions.
- dApps: Decentralized applications built on Ethereum.
- EVM: A Turing-complete virtual machine executing Ethereum’s operations.
Who Developed Ethereum?
Ethereum was co-founded by eight programmers and entrepreneurs, with Vitalik Buterin as its most prominent figure. Buterin authored Ethereum’s whitepaper at age 19 in 2014. Other co-founders include Gavin Wood (creator of Solidity and Polkadot), Joseph Lubin (founder of ConsenSys), and others. The Ethereum ICO in 2014 raised funds at ~$0.30 per ETH, leading to its official launch on July 30, 2015.
Milestones:
- All-Time High: ETH peaked at $4,891 on November 16, 2021.
- Market Influence: ETH shapes crypto trends despite regulatory challenges.
What Makes Ethereum Unique?
1. Token Standards:
- ERC-20: For fungible tokens (e.g., stablecoins like DAI).
- ERC-721: For non-fungible tokens (NFTs), used in digital collectibles.
2. EIP-1559 (2021 Upgrade):
- Introduced automated base fees and a fee-burning mechanism to stabilize ETH supply and prices.
3. Ethereum 2.0 (The Merge):
- Transitioned from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) in 2022, reducing energy consumption by 99.95%.
- Validators stake 32 ETH to earn ~6% annual rewards.
4. Ethereum Name Service (ENS):
- Converts complex wallet addresses (e.g.,
0x71C…) to human-readable names (e.g.,cryptoenthusiast.eth).
5. Ethereum Killers:
- Competing blockchains like Solana (SOL) and Polygon (MATIC) aim to solve ETH’s scalability and fee issues but haven’t surpassed its dominance.
FAQ Section
1. How is Ethereum different from Bitcoin?
- Bitcoin is a digital currency, while Ethereum is a platform for smart contracts and dApps.
2. What are gas fees?
- Gas fees are transaction costs on Ethereum, paid in Gwei (1 Gwei = 0.000000001 ETH).
3. Can I mine Ethereum after The Merge?
- No. Ethereum now uses PoS, requiring staking instead of mining.
4. What is wrapped ETH (wETH)?
- An ERC-20 token pegged 1:1 to ETH, enabling cross-chain transactions.
5. How do I stake ETH?
- Stake via platforms like 👉 OKX or decentralized protocols (e.g., Lido).
6. Is Ethereum inflationary?
- Post-EIP-1559, ETH’s supply is deflationary when fees burned exceed new issuance.
Final Thoughts
Ethereum remains a cornerstone of blockchain innovation, continually evolving with upgrades like Ethereum 2.0. Its versatility in DeFi, NFTs, and dApps ensures long-term relevance, though challenges like scalability persist. For real-time ETH price tracking and secure trading, explore trusted platforms like 👉 OKX.
Data updated as of latest market conditions.
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