Ethereum
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What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is the leading smart contract blockchain and the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin, it introduced the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) that executes arbitrary code. Following the transition to Proof of Stake in September 2022, ETH also secures the network through staking.
How it works
Ethereum runs on a public blockchain validated by Proof of Stake since September 2022 (the transition known as The Merge). Validators deposit at least 32 ETH as collateral to produce blocks and validate transactions, receiving rewards proportional to their stake. The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) executes smart contracts in any language compiled to its bytecode, Solidity being the most widely used. Transactions pay fees in ETH (gas) that have been burned since the EIP-1559 upgrade of 2021, introducing structural deflationary pressure on the supply.
Use cases
Ethereum is the core of the DeFi ecosystem, where protocols such as Aave, Uniswap, Lido and Maker run with billions in TVL. It is the base layer on which the leading Layer 2 rollups (Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, zkSync) live, scaling the network without sacrificing security. Most of the NFT market and of the tokenization of real-world assets (Treasury bonds, real estate) has been built on Ethereum. Some corporate treasuries have begun to add ETH to their balance sheets as a productive asset complementing BTC.
Ethereum on SatsIntel
For the corporate treasury investor, ETH represents an exposure distinct from Bitcoin's: a productive asset that earns real yield via staking (3-5% annually historically) and captures fees from network usage. SatsIntel tracks the addition of ETH to corporate balance sheets as a complement to BTC. Compared with Bitcoin, ETH offers structural yield but at the cost of greater technical complexity, centralized governance of upgrades and lower scarcity (no fixed maximum supply).
Frequently asked questions
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum (ETH) is the leading smart contract blockchain, launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin and a founding team. It introduces the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), a decentralized virtual machine that executes arbitrary code on the network. It is the second-largest cryptocurrency by capitalization after Bitcoin and the core of the DeFi and NFT ecosystem.
What is the maximum supply of Ethereum?
Ethereum has no fixed maximum supply, unlike Bitcoin. Current issuance depends on total staking: the more ETH staked, the lower the reward per validator and the lower the issuance. Since the EIP-1559 upgrade of August 2021, fees (gas) are burned, which in periods of high on-chain activity produces a net deflationary supply.
How do you earn yield with Ethereum?
The main method is staking: depositing at least 32 ETH as a validator, or smaller amounts via pools such as Lido, Rocket Pool or exchange-native staking, and receiving rewards in ETH proportional to your stake. Historical yield ranges between 3% and 5% annually depending on the total ETH staked and network activity.
What is the difference between Ethereum and Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is digital money with fixed scarcity (21 million maximum) and a minimalist design geared toward store of value. Ethereum is a smart contract platform with variable supply, designed to run decentralized applications. Bitcoin uses Proof of Work; Ethereum has used Proof of Stake since 2022. Bitcoin earns no native yield; ETH does, through staking. They are complementary assets, not substitutes.
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