Since its official release in 2015, the Ethereum network has been the target of hackers and theft. The current Ethereum network has an internal virtual currency known as Ether, the value of which has risen and fallen over the last two years. It also allows people to write what are known as smart contracts into the Ethereum blockchain. As with Bitcoin, however, anyone can join the Ethereum network and see all the activity on the Ethereum blockchain. Mr. Batlin and others involved in the Ethereum Alliance said that the way the Ethereum developers handled that attack convinced them of the maturity of the technology.

Source: New York Times February 27, 2017 21:13 UTC