Ethereum
Ethereum is the main platform of today’s blockchain world, the operating system. Ethereum is the canvas, the paper, or that bar bathroom wall that you can’t help but read. It is the protocol people build upon. Ethereum is a generalized blockchain; it’s not specialized for any one purpose (unlike Bitcoin). It is generalized so that anyone can program it for their specific needs. Information and transactions are still placed in blocks and secured by miners, but the information doesn’t only need to be purely “send and receive” transactions; it can be used for far more complex applications. Just like with the Internet, Ethereum is the toolbox for the development of this new technology — it’s up to developers and innovators to make use of the tools, such as “smart contracts” that automatically execute if a certain event were to occur.
