Decentralized Platform for Smart Contracts
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is an alternative decentralized ledger protocol. While similar to Bitcoin superfically, Ethereum is not specifically an alternative cryptocurrency. This is because Ethereum is not primarily a finanical instrument, but a much more robust protocol that allows for applications to be created on top of its blockchain.
Ethereum powers decentralized business logic, also known as smart contracts. These smart contracts are represented as cryptographic “boxes” that contain value and only unlock it if certain conditions are met. This business logic executes on the blockchain cloud (no server hosting is required), and automatically enforces the terms of a given agreement between a number of parties. Smart contracts are a building block for “ÐApps”, the new form of Decentralized Applications.
At its core, security, decentralization and reliability are at the core of the system.
The Benefits
Uses
The Ethereum transaction ledger can be used to securely execute a wide variety of services/applications including:
- voting systems
- financial exchanges
- decentralized autonomous organizations
- domain name registration
- crowdfunding platforms
- private company stock sales