Ethereum stands as a decentralized open-source blockchain system, boasting its native cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH). It serves as a foundation for various other cryptocurrencies and the execution of decentralized smart contracts. The inception of Ethereum dates back to a 2013 whitepaper authored by Vitalik Buterin. Following this, Buterin and co-founders initiated a crowdfunding campaign in the summer of 2014, raising $18.3 million in Bitcoin. During the Initial Coin Offering (ICO), Ether was priced at $0.311, with over 60 million Ether tokens sold. Considering Ethereum's current value, this translates to an impressive annualized return on investment (ROI) of over 270%, indicating nearly quadrupled investment returns every year since the summer of 2014. Formally launched by the Ethereum Foundation on July 30, 2015, the blockchain commenced its journey under the prototype codenamed "Frontier." Subsequently, numerous network updates followed, including "Constantinople" on Feb. 28, 2019, "Istanbul" on Dec. 8, 2019, "Muir Glacier" on Jan. 2, 2020, "Berlin" on April 14, 2021, and most recently, the "London" hard fork on Aug. 5, 2021. Ethereum aims to establish itself as a global platform for decentralized applications, enabling users worldwide to develop and execute software resistant to censorship, downtime, and fraudulent activities.