Ethereum

Targeted mainly at smart contracts conforming to the ERC20 rule-set.

ERC20 smart contracts make it easy to raise funds through a Initial Coin Offering (ICO)

Etherum was initiated by the Ethereum Foundation, funny thing about the foundation is that is does not want to grow itself but encourages others in the Ethereum community to develop new solutions[1].

The Ethereum network is undergoing upgrades to move to a more sustainable and faster blockchain known as eth2 AKA Serenity. E.g. the current 'mainnet'-chain is using Proof of Work for consensus. It will move to Proof of Stake, for that the 'beacon' chain is introduced. Eventually mainnet will be merged into beacon.