Ethereum is an open-source, decentralized blockchain technology with its native coin, Ether (ETH). ETH is a cryptocurrency that serves as a platform for a variety of other cryptocurrencies. Ethereum is the first and largest smart contract platform.Vitalik Buterin originally introduced Ethereum in a whitepaper published in 2013. In the summer of 2014, Buterin and his co-founders raised funds for the project through an online public crowd sale.The ERC-20 compatibility standard allows Ethereum's blockchain to hold additional cryptocurrencies, known as "tokens," in addition to smart contracts. To date, more than 280,000 ERC-20-compliant tokens have been issued on the ETH platform, making it the most popular usage of the network. Over 40 of these cryptocurrencies are among the top-100 cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalisation.