Ethereum

Ethereum is a Layer 1 blockchain launched in July 2015 that functions as a global, open-source platform for decentralized applications, meaning software that runs without a central operator controlling it. It was designed to extend the idea of a blockchain beyond simple value transfer by giving developers a programmable environment where they can write self-executing agreements, called smart contracts, that run automatically when preset conditions are met. The network is used by developers building financial services, digital-collectible markets, gaming platforms, and many other applications that benefit from operating without a single point of control.

Ethereum reaches agreement on the state of its ledger through a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism in which validators lock up, or stake, ETH as collateral, and in return are selected to propose and confirm new blocks roughly every 12 seconds — the stored data shows a 24-hour average block time of 12.05 seconds. Transactions are executed by the Ethereum Virtual Machine, a shared computing environment that runs smart contract code identically across the network's independent nodes. ETH is the network's native token: users pay fees in ETH, validators earn ETH rewards for honest block production, and a portion of each fee is burned, permanently reducing the outstanding supply.

Fees on Ethereum are paid by users who want their transactions processed; over the trailing 30 days the network collected 18,241,068 USD in total fees, and over the trailing 12 months that figure reached 182,443,054 USD. Of those fees, a share goes to validators as revenue — protocol revenue over the trailing 30 days was 6,491,765 USD, implying a take rate of roughly 35.59% over the same period, with the remainder distributed to the supply side, meaning validators and stakers, recorded at 11,749,303 USD for the 30-day window. The burn mechanism means a portion of fees is destroyed rather than paid to anyone: over the most recent 24-hour period, 87,571.20 USD worth of ETH was burned, which was nearly identical to the 87,563 USD in 24-hour revenue, and the annualized real issuance rate stood at approximately negative 0.010%, reflecting net deflation when burn exceeds new issuance. The nominal staking yield for validators was recorded at 2.24% at the most recent measurement.