Ethereum (ETH) is a programmable blockchain for running smart-contract applications, and ETH is the native coin that powers it.
Ethereum launched its mainnet in July 2015, per ethereum.org, with Vitalik Buterin among its founders. If Bitcoin is closest to digital money, Ethereum is often described as a 'world computer' where applications run.
Ethereum hosts DeFi (decentralized finance), NFTs, stablecoins, games and many other services. ETH is both the fuel (gas) needed to use the network and an asset traded in its own right.
Ethereum users pay a fee called gas, in ETH, to send transactions or run smart contracts. Since EIP-1559 arrived with the London upgrade in August 2021, per the Ethereum docs, the base fee is burned, so heavier usage reduces ETH's net supply.
Ethereum has no hard supply cap like Bitcoin; supply rises or falls depending on the balance of new issuance and burning. As of September 2026 per CoinGecko, ETH's total supply is roughly 120 million.
Data provided by CoinGecko
Ethereum staking means locking ETH to help validate the network in exchange for rewards. As of September 18, 2026, industry reports citing on-chain data put about 35.6% of total supply in staking, up from about 29.8% in September 2025.
Ethereum's staked ETH cannot be sold instantly, so the amount actually circulating on the market is smaller. Liquid staking tokens, which represent staked ETH, do trade freely, however.
Ethereum switched from mining (proof of work) to proof of stake in the September 2022 'Merge'. Per the Ethereum docs, validators who deposit 32 ETH propose and confirm blocks for rewards, and energy use fell by about 99.95% after the switch.
Ethereum's Merge is regarded as a major technical event because a large live blockchain replaced its consensus mechanism entirely. Development since then has focused on scaling while preserving decentralization.
Ethereum activated the 'Pectra' upgrade in May 2025 and 'Fusaka' in December 2025, per ethereum.org. PeerDAS, introduced in Fusaka, expands the data space available to Layer-2 (L2) networks to lower their transaction costs.
Ethereum's next major upgrade is 'Glamsterdam'; as of late September 2026, industry reports say a Sepolia testnet fork is set for October 6 with mainnet targeted for Q4 2026, though no final date is confirmed. Glamsterdam focuses on L1 throughput, including enshrined proposer-builder separation (ePBS) and groundwork for parallel processing, with 'HegotΓ‘' planned afterward.
Ethereum's long-term roadmap aims to bring full danksharding and zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs to L1 for a network that is cheap, fast and secure at once.
Ethereum's most debated question is whether enough value accrues to ETH as L2 usage grows while L1 fee revenue and burning decline. Fast rival chains such as Solana and the complexity and execution risk of frequent upgrades are also cited.
Ethereum staking and related products such as spot ETFs still face regulatory uncertainty that varies by country. This article is for information only, not investment advice; any investment decision is your own responsibility.
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