Ethereum is an open platform that allows developers to create and deploy decentralized applications such as smart contracts and other sophisticated legal and financial applications. You can think of Ethereum as a programmable bitcoin, where developers can use the underlying blockchain to create markets, shared ledgers, digital organizations, and other endless possibilities that require immutable data and agreements, all without the need for intermediaries. Released in 2015, Ethereum is the brainchild of the eminent Vitalik Buterin, who saw the potential use of underlying blockchain technology in Bitcoin as the next step in expanding the blockchain community. Currently, Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency in the coin market and is expected to surpass Bitcoin as a valuable investment and as the most popular cryptocurrency in the world.
