Web3 Academy — Learn Blockchain, Solidity & DeFi

Ethereum, proposed by Vitalik Buterin in 2013 and launched in 2015, extended blockchain beyond simple value transfer. It introduced smart contracts — self-executing programs that run on every node in the network. This makes Ethereum a 'world computer': a global, permissionless, censorship-resistant computing platform. Unlike Bitcoin's limited scripting, Ethereum's Solidity language is Turing-complete, enabling complex applications from DeFi protocols to NFT marketplaces to DAOs.

💡 Key Takeaway

This lesson covers the fundamental concepts. Make sure you understand these before moving to the next chapter.

Ethereum: The World Computer