Ethereum was the first form of programmable money - a cryptoasset that allows anyone to code financial assets as one would code computer programs. It has the largest developer base and ecosystem within the blockchain industry.

Launching its mainnet in July 2015, Ethereum has become the second largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, and the largest ecosystem overall. Many big companies are today building on Ethereum e.g. Amazon, Microsoft and Google, among others.

Ether is the currency that is currently used to pay for any transactions within the Ethereum ecosystem - like the issuance of smart contracts. It therefore plays a similar role, as oil does for the global economy.