Yes, Ethereum can be used for transactions. Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of fraud or third party interference.
These apps run on a custom built blockchain, an enormously powerful shared global infrastructure that can move value around and represent ownership of property. This enables developers to create markets, store registries of debts or promises, move funds in accordance with instructions given long in the past (like a will or a futures contract) and many other things that have not been invented yet, all without a middleman or counterparty risk.
The Ethereum network is kept running by computers all over the world. These computers are in a “race” to solve computationally difficult math problems, and the winner is rewarded with ether.
The Ethereum network itself is not controlled or owned by any one entity, person, or organization.
The most common use case for Ethereum is creating and running decentralized applications (dapps). A dapp is an application that runs on the Ethereum network, and uses ether as its currency.
Dapps are open source, and anyone can build one.
There are many dapps already built on Ethereum, with more being created every day. Some popular dapps include Augur, a decentralized prediction market; uPort, a self-sovereign identity platform; and Weifund, a crowdfunding platform.
Decentralized apps have many advantages over traditional apps. They are censorship resistant because there is no central point of control; they are more secure because there is no single point of failure; and they are more private because data is distributed across the network instead of being stored in centralized servers.
Ethereum is also working on solutions to scalability issues that have plagued other blockchain projects, such as Bitcoin. The Ethereum team is working on implementing sharding, which would break the blockchain up into smaller pieces that could be processed more efficiently.
They are also working on Plasma, which would create child chains off of the main Ethereum chain that could process transactions much faster than the current system.
If successful, these scaling solutions could make Ethereum the go-to platform for dapps and blockchain applications of all kinds. With its growing user base and developer community, Ethereum has the potential to become the backbone of the new internet.