Ethereum is a global, decentralized platform for money and new kinds of applications. On Ethereum, you can write code that controls money, and build applications accessible anywhere in the world. It is the community-run technology powering the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of decentralized applications.
Getting Started
To get started with Ethereum, one needs to:
- Pick a wallet: A wallet lets you connect to Ethereum and manage your funds.
- Get ETH: ETH is the currency of Ethereum β you can use it in applications.
- Use a dapp: Dapps are applications powered by Ethereum.
- Start building: If you want to start coding with Ethereum, there are documentation, tutorials, and more in the developer portal.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world β all you need is the internet.
A Fairer Financial System
Today, billions of people canβt open bank accounts, others have their payments blocked. Ethereum's decentralized finance (DeFi) system never sleeps or discriminates. With just an internet connection, you can send, receive, borrow, earn interest, and even stream funds anywhere in the world.
The Internet of Assets
Ethereum isn't just for digital money. Anything you can own can be represented, traded and put to use as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). You can tokenize your art and get royalties automatically every time it's re-sold. Or use a token for something you own to take out a loan. The possibilities are growing all the time.
An Open Internet
Today, we gain access to 'free' internet services by giving up control of our personal data. Ethereum services are open by default β you just need a wallet. These are free and easy to set up, controlled by you, and work without any personal info.
Your Own Bank
You can build a bank run by logic you've programmed. You can create tokens that you can transfer and use across applications. You can use existing languages to interact with Ethereum and other applications. You can reimagine existing services as decentralized, open applications.
Ethereum Today
Ethereum and its apps are transparent and open source. You can fork code and re-use functionality others have already built. If you don't want to learn a new language you can just interact with open-sourced code using JavaScript and other existing languages.
The latest network statistics include:
- Total ETH staked
- Transactions today
- Value locked in DeFi (USD)
- Nodes
Ethereum is run by thousands of volunteers around the globe, known as nodes.
Further Exploration
The Ethereum roadmap consists of interconnected upgrades designed to make the network more scalable, secure, and sustainable. Ethereum can open up new business models, reduce your costs and future-proof your business. Ethereum is all about community. It's made up of people from all different backgrounds and interests.