Ethereum (ETH) was first described in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin. In the summer of 2014, Buterin, along with other co-founders, secured funding for the project. Today, it is the second-largest cryptocurrency.
The key difference from Bitcoin: Bitcoin primarily serves as a store of value with a limited supply, whereas Ethereum is a platform for building decentralized applications and smart contracts, making it far more versatile.
