{"id":6,"slug":"ethereum","name":"Ethereum","alternate_names":["ETH","이더리움"],"aliases":[],"locale":"en","available_locales":["en"],"localized":false,"type":"technology","description":"Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality, secured by proof-of-stake consensus.","overview":"Ethereum is a public blockchain that runs smart contracts and decentralized applications. Its native asset is ether (ETH). Ethereum operates a mainnet plus several public testnets, and transitioned its consensus to proof-of-stake.","official_url":"https://ethereum.org","image_url":null,"country":null,"region":null,"wikidata_id":null,"wikipedia_url":null,"verified":false,"scores":{"authority":85,"trust":0,"citation":0},"topic":{"slug":"blockchain-mainnet-development","name":"Blockchain"},"url":"https://worldwiki.io/entity/ethereum","facts":[{"id":120,"predicate":"definition","label":"Definition (official claim)","value":"Public blockchain whose Turing-complete Ethereum Virtual Machine runs smart contracts. Each computation step costs gas.","unit":null,"confidence":60,"valid_from":null,"valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 06:41:17","source_ids":[217]},{"id":121,"predicate":"whitepaper_published","label":"Whitepaper published (official claim)","value":"November 2013, by Vitalik Buterin","unit":null,"confidence":60,"valid_from":null,"valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 06:41:17","source_ids":[204]},{"id":6,"predicate":"native_asset","label":"Native asset","value":"Ether (ETH)","unit":null,"confidence":100,"valid_from":null,"valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-14 12:40:21","source_ids":[4]},{"id":122,"predicate":"co_founders","label":"Co-founders (official claim)","value":"Vitalik Buterin, Gavin Wood, Joseph Lubin, Jeffrey Wilcke, Mihai Alisie, Anthony Di Iorio, Amir Chetrit, Charles Hoskinson","unit":null,"confidence":60,"valid_from":null,"valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 06:41:17","source_ids":[204]},{"id":7,"predicate":"consensus","label":"Consensus mechanism","value":"Proof of stake","unit":null,"confidence":100,"valid_from":null,"valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-14 12:40:21","source_ids":[5]},{"id":123,"predicate":"crowdsale","label":"Ether presale (official claim)","value":"July–August 2014; raised 31,000 BTC (about USD 18 million at the time)","unit":"BTC","confidence":60,"valid_from":"2014-08-31","valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 06:41:17","source_ids":[204]},{"id":8,"predicate":"official_url","label":"Official website","value":"https://ethereum.org","unit":null,"confidence":100,"valid_from":null,"valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-14 12:40:21","source_ids":[4]},{"id":124,"predicate":"mainnet_launch_date","label":"Mainnet launch (Frontier) (official claim)","value":"2015-07-30","unit":null,"confidence":60,"valid_from":null,"valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 06:41:17","source_ids":[204]},{"id":125,"predicate":"beacon_chain_launch_date","label":"Beacon Chain launch (official claim)","value":"2020-12-01","unit":null,"confidence":60,"valid_from":null,"valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 06:41:17","source_ids":[160]},{"id":126,"predicate":"merge_date","label":"The Merge (switch from proof-of-work) (official claim)","value":"2022-09-15","unit":null,"confidence":60,"valid_from":null,"valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 06:41:17","source_ids":[160]},{"id":127,"predicate":"energy_reduction_post_merge","label":"Energy reduction after The Merge (official claim)","value":"About 99.95","unit":"%","confidence":60,"valid_from":"2022-09-15","valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 06:41:17","source_ids":[160]},{"id":128,"predicate":"latest_network_upgrade","label":"Latest network upgrade (official claim)","value":"Fusaka (Fulu-Osaka), 2025-12-03; before that Pectra, 2025-05-07. Next: Glamsterdam, date not set","unit":null,"confidence":60,"valid_from":"2026-09-18","valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 06:41:17","source_ids":[186]},{"id":129,"predicate":"supporting_organization","label":"Supporting organization (official claim)","value":"Ethereum Foundation, a Swiss non-profit. It does not control the network, and Ethereum has no CEO","unit":null,"confidence":60,"valid_from":null,"valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 06:41:17","source_ids":[204]},{"id":130,"predicate":"regulatory_status_us","label":"US regulatory status","value":"SEC and CFTC name ether a 'digital commodity', not a security. Protocol staking is not an offer or sale of a security (Release No. 33-11412)","unit":null,"confidence":80,"valid_from":"2026-03-17","valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 06:41:17","source_ids":[218]},{"id":131,"predicate":"regulatory_status_kr","label":"South Korea regulatory framework","value":"Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users (in force 2024-07-19) covers virtual asset service providers: segregated customer assets, market surveillance, FSC/FSS enforcement","unit":null,"confidence":80,"valid_from":"2024-07-19","valid_until":null,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 06:41:17","source_ids":[195]}],"relations":[{"type":"is_a","confidence":100,"target":{"id":3,"slug":"blockchain","name":"Blockchain","type":"technology","description":"A blockchain is a distributed ledger that records transactions in linked, cryptographically secured blocks maintained by a network of nodes.","url":"https://worldwiki.io/entity/blockchain"}},{"type":"uses","confidence":100,"target":{"id":7,"slug":"proof-of-stake","name":"Proof of Stake","type":"concept","description":"Proof of stake is a blockchain consensus mechanism in which validators lock up (stake) the native asset to propose and attest to blocks.","url":"https://worldwiki.io/entity/proof-of-stake"}}],"questions":[{"slug":"is-ethereum-the-same-as-ether-eth","question":"Is Ethereum the same as ether (ETH)?","intent":"informational","language":"en","short_answer":"No. Ethereum is the blockchain network, and ether (ETH) is its native asset. The network runs smart contracts and decentralized applications. ETH pays the gas fees for using the network, is staked by validators to secure it, and is needed to deploy smart contracts to mainnet. People often say \"Ethereum\" when they mean the coin, but strictly the network is Ethereum and the currency is ether.","url":"https://worldwiki.io/q/is-ethereum-the-same-as-ether-eth"},{"slug":"what-was-the-ethereum-merge","question":"What was the Ethereum Merge?","intent":"informational","language":"en","short_answer":"The Merge was the September 15, 2022 upgrade in which Ethereum's original proof-of-work mainnet joined the Beacon Chain, a proof-of-stake chain that had been running since December 1, 2020. After it, validators staking ETH produced blocks instead of miners. Ethereum.org says energy use fell by about 99.95%. The Merge did not lower gas fees or require any action from ETH holders.","url":"https://worldwiki.io/q/what-was-the-ethereum-merge"},{"slug":"how-much-eth-do-you-need-to-stake-on-ethereum","question":"How much ETH do you need to stake on Ethereum?","intent":"informational","language":"en","short_answer":"Running your own validator requires depositing 32 ETH into Ethereum's deposit contract and running execution, consensus and validator software. Since the Pectra upgrade on May 7, 2025, one validator can hold an effective balance of up to 2,048 ETH, which lets large stakers combine several validators into one. Validators earn rewards but can be slashed, losing part or all of their stake, for dishonest behavior.","url":"https://worldwiki.io/q/how-much-eth-do-you-need-to-stake-on-ethereum"},{"slug":"what-are-ethereum-gas-fees-and-why-do-they-change","question":"What are Ethereum gas fees and why do they change?","intent":"informational","language":"en","short_answer":"Gas measures the computation a transaction needs, and fees are paid in ETH, usually quoted in gwei (one-billionth of an ETH). Since EIP-1559 (the London upgrade, August 5, 2021), each fee has a base fee that is burned plus an optional tip to the validator. The base fee can move by up to 12.5% per block depending on demand, so fees rise when the network is busy.","url":"https://worldwiki.io/q/what-are-ethereum-gas-fees-and-why-do-they-change"},{"slug":"what-is-the-difference-between-ethereum-and-bitcoin","question":"What is the difference between Ethereum and Bitcoin?","intent":"informational","language":"en","short_answer":"Bitcoin works mainly as a ledger for payments. Ethereum is a programmable state machine: its Ethereum Virtual Machine runs general-purpose smart contracts. Bitcoin uses proof-of-work mining, while Ethereum has used proof of stake since 2022. Bitcoin's supply is capped, but ETH has no fixed cap; its net supply depends on issuance to validators minus burned transaction fees.","url":"https://worldwiki.io/q/what-is-the-difference-between-ethereum-and-bitcoin"}],"sources":[{"id":4,"title":"Ethereum networks","url":"https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/networks/","publisher":"ethereum.org","type":"official","publication_date":null,"accessed_at":"2026-11-11 18:00:00"},{"id":5,"title":"Proof-of-stake (PoS)","url":"https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos/","publisher":"ethereum.org","type":"official","publication_date":null,"accessed_at":"2026-11-10 18:01:36"},{"id":217,"title":"Ethereum Whitepaper","url":"https://ethereum.org/whitepaper/","publisher":"ethereum.org","type":"official","publication_date":null,"accessed_at":"2026-11-10 18:00:54"},{"id":204,"title":"History of Ethereum: founder, launch and ownership","url":"https://ethereum.org/ethereum-history-founder-and-ownership/","publisher":"ethereum.org (Ethereum Foundation)","type":"official","publication_date":null,"accessed_at":"2026-11-10 18:00:55"},{"id":160,"title":"The Merge","url":"https://ethereum.org/roadmap/merge/","publisher":"ethereum.org","type":"official","publication_date":null,"accessed_at":"2026-11-09 18:01:21"},{"id":186,"title":"Timeline of all Ethereum forks (2014 to present)","url":"https://ethereum.org/ethereum-forks/","publisher":"ethereum.org","type":"official","publication_date":null,"accessed_at":"2026-11-10 18:00:04"},{"id":218,"title":"SEC and CFTC Issue Interpretive Framework on Digital Assets","url":"https://www.hlc.com/en/publications/sec-and-cftc-issue-interpretive-framework-on-digital-assets","publisher":"HLC (law firm)","type":"industry","publication_date":null,"accessed_at":"2026-11-10 18:01:25"},{"id":195,"title":"Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users (press release)","url":"https://www.fsc.go.kr/eng/pr010101/82683","publisher":"Financial Services Commission, Republic of Korea","type":"government","publication_date":null,"accessed_at":"2026-10-16 18:00:49"}],"providers":[],"published_at":"2026-09-14 12:40:21","updated_at":"2026-11-12 05:20:00","verified_at":null}