In the crypto’s own words, Ethereum is “a global, decentralized platform for money and new kinds of applications,” with thousands of games and financial apps running on top of the Ethereum blockchain. This crypto is so popular that even other crypto coins run on its network.

Central to Ethereum is its blockchain network. A blockchain is a decentralized, distributed public ledger where transactions are verified and recorded.

It’s distributed in the sense that everyone participating in the Ethereum network holds an identical copy of this ledger, letting them see all past transactions. It’s decentralized in that the network isn’t operated or managed by any centralized entity—instead, it’s managed by all of the distributed ledger holders.

Blockchain transactions use cryptography to keep the network secure and verify transactions.

Ether, the native token on Ethereum, can be used to buy and sell goods and services just like Bitcoin. But what’s unique about Ethereum is that users can build applications that “run” on the blockchain like software “runs” on a computer. These applications can store and transfer personal data or handle complex financial transactions.