Ethereum
https://etherscan.io/directory/
In late 2013, Vitalik Buterin, a programmer and co-founder of Bitcoin Magazine, proposed Ethereum in a white paper. He believed that Bitcoin and blockchain technology could be used as a platform for decentralized applications (DApps) beyond the scope of just financial transactions. However, Bitcoin Core developers disagreed, leading Buterin to create Ethereum as a separate platform supporting decentralized applications and smart contracts.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is a blockchain with a computer embedded in it. It is the foundation for building apps and organizations in a decentralized, permissionless, censorship-resistant way.
Ethereum isn't just about recording transactions like traditional blockchains (e.g., Bitcoin). Ethereum allows developers to deploy and execute smart contracts and acts like a decentralized computer that can run these smart contracts. Provides a platform for developers to build decentralized applications (DApps).
The Ethereum network is distributed across a large number of nodes (computers) rather than being concentrated in a single authority or entity. It is a permissionless platform, meaning that anyone can participate in the network without needing approval or authorization and cannot easily be censored or controlled by any single entity or authority.
Ethereum is a distributed network of computers (known as nodes) running software that can verify blocks and transaction data. The software must be run on your computer to turn it into an Ethereum node.
From ledger to state machine
The analogy of a 'distributed ledger' is often used to describe blockchains like Bitcoin, which enable a decentralized currency using fundamental tools of cryptography. The ledger maintains a record of activity which must adhere to a set of rules that govern what someone can and cannot do to modify the ledger. For example, a Bitcoin address cannot spend more Bitcoin than it has previously received. These rules underpin all transactions on Bitcoin and many other blockchains.
While Ethereum has its own native cryptocurrency (Ether) that follows almost exactly the same intuitive rules, it also enables a much more powerful function called smart contracts. For this more complex feature, a more sophisticated analogy is required. Instead of a distributed ledger, Ethereum is a distributed state machine.
The term 'state' refers to a comprehensive data structure that holds not only all accounts and balances but a machine state. This machine state can undergo changes from block to block, following a predefined set of rules.
What sets Ethereum apart is its ability to execute arbitrary machine code, allowing for the implementation of smart contracts.
Ethereum's state is a large data structure that holds not only all accounts and balances, but a machine state, which can change from block to block according to a pre-defined set of rules, and which can execute arbitrary machine code. The specific rules of changing state from block to block are defined by the EVM.
The rules governing state changes are defined by the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which executes these smart contracts.
In the context of Ethereum, the state is an enormous data structure called a modified Merkle Patricia Trie, which keeps all accounts linked by hashes and reducible to a single root hash stored on the blockchain.
https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/evm/
Terminology
Ether
Ether (ETH) serves as the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum platform. It plays several key roles within the Ethereum ecosystem such as incentive for Miners/Validators and provides computational resources to the network.
Smart Contracts
One of Ethereum's groundbreaking concepts is the introduction of smart contracts. These self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code have revolutionized the way agreements are made and executed. Smart contracts not only automate processes but also eliminate the need for intermediaries, providing a trustless and efficient framework for a variety of applications. see more.
Decentralized Applications (DApps)
A decentralized application (dapp) is an application built on a decentralized network that combines a smart contract and a front-end user interface. On Ethereum, smart contracts are accessible and transparent – like open APIs – so your dapp can even include a smart contract that someone else has written. read more.
EVM
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