As of Septermber 21, 2023, Ethereum is ranked as the world’s second-largest crypto asset by market capitalization ($228.89 billion). Although the token’s value is far less than that of Bitcoin, there has been an argument that Ethereum plays a bigger role in the crypto industry than its main competitor.
Since launching eight years ago, the Ethereum blockchain has facilitated the development of dApps (decentralized applications), DeFi (decentralized Finance) protocols, ERC-20 tokens, and non-fungible tokens. That has been made possible by the network’s smart contract capabilities.
As of April 2023, DeFi projects built on Ethereum accounted for over 90% of the total value locked in the entire decentralized finance space.
Just as the Ethereum network is a vital element of the crypto industry, its founder and CEO, Vitalik Buterin, is equally influential. The prominent programmer, who is 29 years old as of this writing, is undoubtedly one of the most famous crypto players today.
This article reveals all you need to know about Vitalik Buterin. You will learn how he created Ethereum.
Early Interest Drove Buterin to Crypto
Buterin’s parents gave birth to him in Russia, but they migrated to Canada when he was still young. While in Canada, Buterin’s father quickly recognized his son was good at math. So, he started teaching him about programming as he was an experienced computer scientist.
Buterin once said that his early experience with Web2 game World of Warcraft fueled his desire to focus on projects outside the centralized, traditional economic sector. He explained that although he liked the game, he stopped playing it after realizing its developers had made multiple changes that he disapproved of.
The Ethereum founder continued sharpening his programming skills when he joined high school and college. At one point, he got a chance to interact with Ian Goldberg, a popular cryptographer who contributed to the development of the Tor Project. It was around that time when Buterin learned of the oldest crypto, Bitcoin.
In mid-2011, he began writing articles on the crypto asset and eventually founded Bitcoin Magazine, a well-known crypto news website.
Ethereum Origins
While at the University of Waterloo, the Ethereum founder reunited with Goldberg. He began working with him to build crypto projects. At the time, Buterin started missing lectures. He would later decide to leave university in order to travel across the world to meet other Web3 developers.
In a previous interview, Buterin said many of the developers he interacted with were too focused on creating cryptocurrencies that serve specific purposes. He, on the other hand, believed that digital currencies needed to be more versatile.
Buterin’s ambitions to create a versatile blockchain and token pushed him to learn a Turing-complete programming language. In 2013, he wrote a white paper for his blockchain with the title “Ethereum.” A year later, prominent investor Peter Thie awarded the young programmer a $100,000 grant to help him develop his blockchain.
In January 2015, Buterin shared his concept with the broader crypto community and then launched Ethereum a month later. He then conducted an initial coin offering, raising over $18.5 million in BTC. He used the funds to create the Ethereum Foundation, an organization that has continued to develop the blockchain.
Activities After Ethereum’s Launch
Since its inception, Ethereum has processed transactions worth trillions of dollars. As of September 2023, transactions on Ethereum have surpassed those on Bitcoin. Moreover, Buterin’s blockchain hosts thousands of altcoins and most of the popular NFT collections.
Despite having his own network, Buterin has continued to speak highly of Bitcoin. He acknowledges the oldest blockchain for playing a huge role in making Ethreum’s launch a success.
Meanwhile, the Ethereum founder hopes crypto will address the dangers that centralized financial institutions pose to the world’s economy, as witnessed earlier this year when several banks failed, leading to a financial crisis.
Buterin isn’t just a regular crypto player. He is also a philanthropist. In 2021, he channeled $1.3 billion to Covid relief fund in India. The following year, he donated a significant amount to support Ukraine when the Russian army invaded the country.
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