We’ve all heard of the explosive growth of crypto currencies in recent years, but in all truth, many of us know little about them. We hear tales of riches, of untold billions, of vast immeasurable fortunes, of rags to riches, but who is responsible for all this? Who creates the coins we hear so much about? Well, everyone knows bitcoin, and its founder Satoshi Nakamoto, but there are a vast amount of other coins that have had huge impacts on the cryptocurrency market and bear attention. Ethereum is a coin often passed over in favor of the more popular meme coins and giants, but is an extremely popular coin among crypto traders and has an extremely interesting background story.
Vitalik Buterin was born on January 31, 1994, in Kolomna, Russia. When he was a young kid, merely six years old, his family moved to Canada. Vitalik was quickly recognized for having talent, particularly in the areas of mathematics and programming, and was rapidly enrolled in a gifted education program. Eleven years later, when he was 17 years old, his father first introduced him to bitcoin, a concept that Vitalik instantly recognized for its potential. In 2013, Vitalik made his first big entrance into the cryptocurrency world with the founding of Bitcoin Magazine. The magazine quickly gained popularity, becoming one of the most read sources on the topic, and continues to be well read today. However, Vitalik did not stop there. In 2013 he proposed the idea for Ethereum, a decentralized platform enabling the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications. After pitching the idea he was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Thiel Institute that allowed him to focus solely on the creation of Ethereum. After 2 more years of hard work, the Ethereum blockchain officially launched in mid 2015. Vitalik’s invention was very well received, and today he has been featured in publications such as Forbes “40 Under 40” and “ 30 Under 30” lists, has an estimated net worth of over 1 billion, and has established himself as one of the most prominent figures in the cryptocurrency community.
Wow! Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency are absolute mysteries to me, so this was so interesting. I’d love to keep learning more about all of these origin stories because I honestly feel so lost when it comes to this subject. I can’t believe the talents Buterin had from such a young age. It’s amazing that he was able to be exposed to just the right information to create such a large impact on the industry.
Great post! It’s super interesting to hear about cryptocurrency because it is still very mysterious for me. It’s also shocking to hear how he got started with this over a decade ago. It seems like cryptocurrency only came into the big picture within the past 5-7 years, but now I see that it’s been around much longer than I realize. I would be curious to hear more of your thoughts about what we can learn from such an influential figure or maybe how he inspires you.