Ethereum and Smart Contracts

Ethereum is a blockchain you can program. Its smart contracts power lending apps, trading platforms and digital collectibles. Here is how it differs from bitcoin and how its token, ether, has behaved.

A world computer

Bitcoin mainly tracks who owns bitcoin. Ethereum, launched in 2015, lets developers write smart contracts: programs that run on the blockchain and automatically move money when conditions are met. Anyone can use them, and nobody can quietly change their rules once deployed.

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