Too Long; Didn't Read
The project was bootstrapped via an ether presale in 2014, at the time when the currency was just called ‘Ether’ It's the token used to pay transaction fees on the network, and miners earn Ether from mining blocks. Smart contracts allow developers to create markets, store registries of debts or promises, move funds in accordance with instructions given long in the past. Decentralized apps built on top of the platform can be used to control real-world objects like cars or homes.