Vitalik Buterin

November 21, 2023 - Around 2 mins mins to read

Who Is Vitalik Buterin?

Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum, is a well-known figure in the tech industry. He is also one of the co-founders of Bitcoin Magazine. Born in Russia in 1994, Buterin moved to Canada as a child.

Buterin’s involvement in the world of cryptocurrencies began when he learned about Bitcoin from his computer scientist father at the age of 17. In 2011, he started writing for Bitcoin Weekly and earned five Bitcoin per article until the website stopped operating. During the same year, Mihai Alisie, another co-founder of Ethereum, approached him to start a new publication called Bitcoin Magazine.

While studying at the University of Waterloo, Buterin worked as an assistant for cryptographer Ian Goldberg. This experience allowed him to become more engaged in the cryptocurrency community and attend conferences, which ultimately inspired him to create an alternative to Bitcoin with improved capabilities.

In late 2013, Buterin published a white paper that introduced Ethereum. Ethereum is a decentralized mining network and software development platform that enables the creation of new cryptocurrencies and applications on a shared blockchain. The white paper gained significant attention, leading many individuals to reach out to Buterin to discuss the concept.

In 2014, Buterin made the decision to drop out of university after receiving a $100,000 grant from the Thiel Fellowship for young innovators. This grant allowed him to fully dedicate his time to Ethereum. He collaborated with a team that included Mihai Alisie, Anthony Di Iorio, Charles Hoskinson, Joe Lubin, and Gavin Wood. The project was officially announced in 2014, and a publicly-available version was released in 2015.

Under Buterin’s leadership, Ethereum has become the second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Basel in 2018.

In addition to his work on Ethereum, Buterin has also made significant philanthropic contributions. He has donated millions worth of Ether to various charities, institutions, and foundations. In 2020, he invested $1.4 million of Ether to initiate the design of the Ethereum 2.0 platform.

For more information about Vitalik Buterin, please visit the People section on the CoinMarketCap website.