Ethereum

What Ethereum does

Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source Layer-1 blockchain platform operated by Stiftung Ethereum, a Swiss nonprofit foundation (Stiftung) headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. Launched as Frontier on July 30, 2015, it functions as a global, permissionless settlement layer for programmable value transfer, serving developers building decentralized applications, enterprises tokenizing real-world assets, financial institutions deploying stablecoins and digital settlement infrastructure, sovereigns issuing digital identity (e.g., Bhutan's NDI), and approximately 311 million ETH holders worldwide. There are no shareholders, equity holders, or parent company; protocol changes are made through open Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs).

The technology stack centers on a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism (adopted via The Merge in September 2022) and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) for smart-contract execution, with a multi-tier scaling architecture comprising Layer 2 rollups (Optimistic and ZK), a ZK-EVM execution layer, and data-availability primitives such as PeerDAS. Recent major upgrades include Pectra (April 2025) and Fusaka (December 2025), with Glamsterdam and Hegota planned for 2026 to deliver higher throughput, native account abstraction, parallel execution, and post-quantum security. A dedicated cryptography team, an AI-agent identity standard (ERC-8004) launched in January 2026, and the Ethereum Interop Layer (EIL, testnet since November 2025) extend the platform into identity, interoperability, and AI-economy infrastructure. The Foundation itself has roughly 270 employees post-restructuring, with offices in Zug and Berlin.

Ethereum's revenue model is fundamentally different from conventional software companies. There is no list price or subscription: users pay gas fees denominated in ETH for transaction and smart-contract execution, with a portion burned via EIP-1559 and the balance paid to validators. The network led all blockchains in 2024 with $2.48 billion in fee revenue. The Foundation, funded by original ETH allocations and ecosystem grants, runs a Treasury Staking Initiative (announced February 2026) to generate yield on holdings and does not publicly disclose its operating budget. Enterprise customers — including VanEck, BlackRock, ODDO BHF, the Kingdom of Bhutan, and five major U.S. regional banks — access the network as settlement infrastructure rather than as paying subscribers, and the platform is supported by an open developer ecosystem, the Ecosystem Support Program grants, and flagship Devcon conferences.

Name

Ethereum

Legal name

Stiftung Ethereum

Website

https://ethereum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ethereum is a decentralized Layer-1 blockchain operated by Swiss nonprofit Stiftung Ethereum, serving developers, enterprises, governments, and 311M+ ETH holders with programmable smart contracts, tokenization infrastructure, and stablecoin settlement. Revenue accrues via protocol-level gas fees paid in ETH.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Layer-1 Blockchain Protocol

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (52321), Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210), Securities and Commodity Exchanges (5232)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Finance Services (6199), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Smart Contract Execution Environments (EVM/WASM, runtimes, precompiles) (FSAPABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Asset Risk, Security & Audit Tooling (Smart Contract Audit, Threat Monitoring) (FSAGAMAJ), Stablecoin Protocols (Decentralized) (FSADAMAD), Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL)

Keywords

• Decentralized blockchain platform
• Smart contract platform
• Layer 1 protocol
• Decentralized finance infrastructure
• Tokenization settlement layer

Headquarters

HQ city

Zug

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Protocol Transaction Fees (Gas): Ethereum generates revenue at the protocol level through gas fees paid in ETH for transactions, smart contract execution, and block space. EIP-1559 burns a portion of gas (base fee), while tip/priority fees reward validators. Ethereum led all blockchains in 2024 with $2.48 billion in fee revenue.
2. Ethereum Foundation Treasury Staking: The Ethereum Foundation runs a Treasury Staking Initiative (announced Feb 2026) to generate yield on treasury holdings via staking, supporting protocol development. The Foundation is funded through ETH allocations from the genesis block and ongoing ecosystem grants allocations (Q1 2026 ESP allocations documented).
3. Enterprise / Institutional Settlement: Ethereum serves as settlement infrastructure for tokenized real-world assets ($24.92B in tokenized value on Ethereum, Arbitrum, Solana in early 2026), stablecoins ($180B onchain stablecoin value), and TradFi deployments (e.g., ODDO BHF bonds, VanEck Treasury Fund VBILL, NYSE tokenized stocks pilot, BlackRock BUIDL fund). Generates fee revenue indirectly via settlement demand.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Core offering

Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source Layer-1 blockchain platform launched in 2015 that runs continuously with 100% uptime. It executes smart contracts via the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), settles transactions and tokenized assets, supports a native asset (ETH) used for gas payments and staking, and operates an extensive Layer-2 scaling ecosystem. The platform is operated by the Ethereum Foundation (Stiftung Ethereum), a Swiss nonprofit, and is governed through open Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs).

Product overview

Ethereum is a single unified platform built around the Ethereum mainnet blockchain (live continuously since 2015) and its native asset Ether (ETH). On top of this core layer, Ethereum offers a portfolio of products and capabilities: smart contracts running on the EVM and zkEVM execution layers; a multi-path staking system (solo, pooled, and staking-as-a-service); a family of Layer 2 scaling networks that settle back to mainnet; the Ethereum Interop Layer (EIL) for cross-L2 interoperability; Sign-In with Ethereum (SIWE) for passwordless authentication; a Decentralized Identity stack with DIDs and verifiable credentials; and protocol standards such as ERC-8004 for AI-agent identities. The platform is operated by the Ethereum Foundation (Stiftung Ethereum) and is governed through open Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) and a roadmap of network upgrades including Pectra (April 2025), Fusaka (December 2025), and the planned Glamsterdam and Hegota upgrades, supported by initiatives such as the Trillion Dollar Security Initiative and the Lean Ethereum roadmap.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ethereum.org: The community-maintained knowledge hub and public-facing website for the Ethereum network.
• Ethereum Foundation Blog
• Devcon
• Devconnect

Products and services

• Ethereum Mainnet Decentralized, open-source Layer-1 blockchain network live continuously since 2015, processing transactions and smart contracts through thousands of independent operators worldwide; settlement layer for the Ethereum ecosystem.
• Ether (ETH) Native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, used to pay gas fees for transactions and smart-contract execution, to secure the network via staking, and as the unit of account for on-chain value transfer.
• Ethereum Staking (Solo, Pooled, SaaS) Three staking pathways by which ETH holders help secure the network's Proof-of-Stake consensus and earn native staking rewards: solo staking, pooled staking, and staking-as-a-service.
• Layer 2 Networks Secondary networks (Optimistic and ZK rollups, sidechains) that settle back to Ethereum mainnet to increase transaction throughput and lower fees while inheriting mainnet security; includes Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Polygon, and ZKsync.
• Ethereum Interop Layer (EIL) Cross-chain messaging and verification layer (built on ERC-7786, RIP-7859, RIP-7755) that lets users swap, send tokens, mint NFTs and trade across Layer 2 networks with a single click, without bridges or manual network switching; live on testnet since November 2025.
• Decentralized Identity (DIDs & Verifiable Credentials) Standards-based infrastructure for self-sovereign identity using Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and attestations/verifiable credentials, enabling passwordless login, KYC, anti-Sybil, and government-issued digital IDs.
• zkEVM (Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine) Zero-knowledge EVM implementation on Layer 1 enabling real-time proving of EVM execution for trust-minimized scaling; part of the Lean Ethereum / Glamsterdam roadmap.

Quantifiable outcome

• $2.48B in fee revenue (2024)
• +12 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature11 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Optimism, Conduit, Boundless, EigenDAcoreTechnology or Integration · 12 May 2026Partnerships spanning Ronin's migration to a full Ethereum Layer 2 on May 12, 2026. Ronin joined the OP Stack ecosystem, consolidating toward Ethereum's base layer (alongside Base, Celo, Fraxtal).
• Huntington Bancshares, First Horizon, MT Bank, KeyCorp, Old National BancorpflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 March 2026Five major U.S. regional banks managing over $600 billion in total deposits adopted Prividium on the ZKsync platform (Ethereum L2) via Cari Network as design partners for next-generation digital settlement infrastructure. Move responds to $5.7 trillion stablecoin volume posing deposit-drain risks.
• Antithesis (Jane Street-backed testing infrastructure)coreTechnology or Integration · 3 December 2025Ethereum network used Antithesis's deterministic simulation testing platform ahead of The Merge to identify vulnerabilities. Antithesis raised $105M Series A led by Jane Street and reports revenue growth exceeding 12x over past two years.
• Kingdom of Bhutan Government (National Digital Identity)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Bhutan migrated its National Digital Identity (NDI) system to Ethereum mainnet in October 2025, providing verifiable credentials for nearly 800,000 citizens. The system uses DIDs and verifiable credentials with issuer schemas anchored on Ethereum. Over 234,000 digital IDs were issued by March 2025.
• Visa, PayPal, Stripe, Western UnioncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGrowing payment infrastructure partnerships with Visa, PayPal, Stripe, and Western Union (referenced in context of tokenization and payment rails that also extend to Ethereum ecosystem).
• MicrosoftcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMicrosoft has been a longstanding sponsor of Ethereum's Devcon developer conferences, dating back to Devcon 1 sponsorship in 2015 and Devcon 2 in Shanghai.
• Google, Coinbase, MetaMask, CloudflareflagshipTechnology or IntegrationMajor technology companies participating in the ERC-8004 AI agent standard ecosystem. Over 70 projects are building on the standard, with Coinbase's x402 standard enabling micropayments ($24M volume in past month).
• Deutsche Bank, SonycoreTechnology or IntegrationMajor institutions including Deutsche Bank and Sony have adopted ZK-based frameworks (built on Ethereum's zkEVM integration) for confidential settlements and digital rights management.
• Stripe (Tempo)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerStripe-backed blockchain company Tempo acquired Porto, a framework built on Ethereum's 2025 Pectra upgrade that separates wallet (transaction interface) from vault (store of value) to address the fundamental design flaw causing billions in theft.
• VanEck, Securitize, State Street, RedstoneflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerVanEck launched VBILL Treasury Fund with on-chain access across Avalanche, BNB Chain, Ethereum, and Solana. NYSE filed with SEC for tokenized stocks pilot using Securitize as technology partner. State Street as asset custodian and Redstone providing oracle pricing.
• European Central Bank (Digital Euro consideration)coreOthersEuropean Union is exploring public blockchains (Ethereum and Solana) for digital euro CBDC project to modernize financial systems and reduce reliance on U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins (98% market dominance). Solana offers 65,000 TPS; Ethereum provides mature smart contract ecosystem with L2 scalability.
• UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEthereum Foundation and UNICEF partnership with updates documented in EF blog (2021 update). UNICEF Ventures explores blockchain applications including on Ethereum.
• ChainalysiscoreTechnology or IntegrationChainalysis published analysis mapping Ethereum and its L2 networks (Arbitrum, Base, Polygon) as offering the strongest combination of institutional liquidity and low illicit exposure for regulated asset tokenization among nine major networks.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• Solana: Solana is a high-throughput Layer-1 blockchain positioned as Ethereum's most direct competitor for DeFi, stablecoin settlement, payments, and tokenized assets. Solana's ~65,000 TPS, lower fees, and growing institutional footprint (EU CBDC consideration, payments partnerships) make it the closest comparable for Ethereum on a category basis.
• BNB Chain: BNB Chain is a Layer-1 blockchain operated by Binance that competes directly with Ethereum for DeFi TVL, token issuance, and retail tokenization flows. It has captured ~6.55% of DeFi TVL share and offers VanEck VBILL access at a $100K minimum (vs. $1M on Ethereum), making it a direct substitute for cost-sensitive institutional and retail use cases.
• Avalanche: Avalanche is a Layer-1 platform with an EVM-compatible C-Chain and a subnet architecture competing with Ethereum for institutional tokenization and real-world asset deployments. VanEck VBILL is also deployed on Avalanche at lower minimums, positioning it as a directly comparable settlement alternative for tokenized funds.
• Cardano: Cardano is a peer-to-peer Layer-1 blockchain with its own research-driven, formally verified smart contract platform and native staking. Founded by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, Cardano competes with Ethereum for developer mindshare, staking yield, and emerging-market adoption, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia.
• Polkadot: Polkadot is a multi-chain Layer-0 protocol that competes with Ethereum's L1-plus-L2 architecture by offering natively interoperable parachains. It targets the same developer base and enterprise tokenization workloads as Ethereum, providing an alternative scaling and interoperability paradigm.
• Tron: Tron is a high-throughput Layer-1 blockchain that has become Ethereum's most direct competitor for stablecoin settlement (notably USDT), processing a large share of global stablecoin transfer volume. Tron is a directly comparable alternative for payments and remittance use cases that Ethereum is targeting.

Emerging players

• Cosmos (Interchain Foundation): Cosmos is a decentralized network of independent, interoperable blockchains (app-chains) built on the Tendermint/CosmWasm stack. It competes with Ethereum's L1-plus-L2 vision for sovereignty-focused tokenization, DeFi, and enterprise chain deployments.

Others

• Consensys: Consensys is the largest Ethereum-focused software company, building developer tools (Infura, MetaMask), enterprise Ethereum solutions, and staking infrastructure. It is a strategic ecosystem participant and quasi-internal Ethereum infrastructure provider, comparable as a closely adjacent corporate vehicle for Ethereum protocol adoption rather than a chain-level competitor.
• Alchemy: Alchemy is a leading blockchain developer platform providing node infrastructure, APIs, and tooling primarily for Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains. While not a chain competitor, it operates the developer on-ramp that is functionally comparable to Ethereum's developer ecosystem strategy and is the dominant multi-chain equivalent.
• Chainalysis: Chainalysis is the leading blockchain analytics and compliance company that explicitly maps Ethereum and its L2s as the strongest combination of institutional liquidity and low illicit exposure among major networks. It is a key ecosystem enabler whose analysis underpins institutional and regulatory adoption decisions that flow through to Ethereum's value capture.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ethdotorg
• GitHubgithub.com/ethereum/ethereum-org-website
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ethereum

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Ethereum