Ether Primer

Follow one transfer from Maya to Jules

Ethereum, without the fog.

How a public computer holds money, runs programs, and stays honest. No trading tips. No token pitches. Just the mental model.

Start the primerGlossary

Ten rooms. A toy in each. About twelve minutes.

Maya → Jules

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Follow one transfer from Maya to Jules.

  1. 01Why a shared ledger existsThe internet is great at copying. Money and contracts are not supposed to be copy-paste.
  2. 02A computer nobody ownsThink of Ethereum as one shared machine. You send it instructions. Everyone can check that it followed them.
  3. 03Wallets are keys, not vaultsA wallet does not hold coins. It holds the key that proves an address is yours.
  4. 04ETH, the native tokenETH is the asset the machine itself understands — money you can send, and fuel you must burn to use it.
  5. 05What a transaction actually isA transaction is a signed instruction: “from this address, do this.” The network checks the signature, then applies it.
  6. 06Gas is a meter, not a mysteryGas measures how much work your request takes. You pay for that work in ETH, more when the network is busy.
  7. 07Blocks are batches with a sealTransactions wait in a pool. A block scoops a batch, stamps a fingerprint, and points at the block before it.
  8. 08Smart contracts are vending machinesA contract is a program stored on Ethereum. It holds assets and follows its code — not a clerk's mood.
  9. 09How the network stays honestEthereum no longer mines with electricity. Validators lock ETH, propose blocks, and lose stake if they cheat.
  10. 10What to do with this pictureYou now have the model. Everything else — apps, tokens, layer 2s — is a variation on keys, gas, blocks, and contracts.

If you already know Bitcoin

Same honesty model. Different machine.

Bitcoin is a shared ledger for money. Ethereum is a shared ledger that also runs programs. Neither is a company. Neither is a bank.

Ethereum is that picture plus a vending machine bolted to the sidewalk. The primer is how the machine actually works.

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