ETHEREUM (ETH)

Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain with smart contract functionality.
Ether (Abbreviation: ETH; sign: Ξ) is the native cryptocurrency of the platform.
Among cryptocurrencies, ether is second only to bitcoin in market capitalization.
It is open-source software. Ethereum was conceived in 2013 by programmer Vitalik Buterin.
Additional founders of Ethereum included Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio and Joseph Lubin.
In 2014, development work began and was crowdfunded, and the network went live on 30 July 2015.
Ethereum allows anyone to deploy permanent and immutable decentralized applications onto it, with which users can interact.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) applications provide financial instruments which do not directly rely on financial intermediaries like brokerages, exchanges, or banks.
This facilitates borrowing against cryptocurrency holdings or lending them out for interest. [+]