Ethereum

English

Etymology

Coined by Russian-Canadian programmer Vitalik Buterin after browsing a list of fictional elements on Wikipedia; based on ether.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪˈθɪəɹiəm/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Noun

Ethereum (uncountable)

  1. An open source, blockchain-based cryptocurrency network, that features smart contracts.
    • 2019, Xun (Brian) Wu, Zhihong Zou, Dongying Song, “Ethereum Architecture and Ecosystem”, in Learn Ethereum [] , Packt Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 74:
      All Ethereum clients provide a set of JSON-RPC methods for external DApps to interact with the Ethereum blockchain network.
    • 2020 July 11, Camila Russo, “Sale of the Century: The Inside Story of Ethereum's 2014 Premine”, in CoinDesk[1], archived from the original on 17 June 2024:
      The sale documents said that once the Ethereum blockchain launched and the premined ether was issued, miners would generate new ether initially at an annual rate of 26% of the amount of ether issued in the crowdsale – the issuance rate isn’t fixed and is capped at 18 million ETH minted per year.
  2. (proscribed) Ether, the cryptocurrency used in that network.
    Synonym: ETH
    • 2021 March 11, Scott Reyburn, “JPG File Sells for $69 Million, as ‘NFT Mania’ Gathers Pace”, in The New York Times[2], →ISSN, archived from the original on 12 March 2021:
      “Everydays” was the first purely digital NFT sold by Christie’s, and it offered to accept payment in Ethereum, another first for the 255-year-old auction house.

Translations

See also

Further reading