Ethereum and Smart Contracts

Ethereum: A Programmable Blockchain

Created by Vitalik Buterin in 2015. Extended Bitcoin by allowing arbitrary programs (smart contracts) to run on the blockchain.

The EVM

Every Ethereum node runs the same Ethereum Virtual Machine — a decentralized, trust-minimized global computer.

The Ecosystem

• DeFi — Uniswap, Aave, Compound
• NFTs — ERC-721 tokens
• DAOs — Decentralized governance
• Layer 2 — Polygon, Arbitrum (faster and cheaper)