by Alexander Romero Who is Vitalik Buterin? The creator of Ethereum.
In 2009, when Bitcoin entered the new economy, many developers and researchers began to dissect it in order to exploit the possibilities of the platform.
Vitalik Buterin, a young boy of only 15, is already interested in this system while continuing his studies. He will study computer science until 2013 to create his own version of a decentralized platform, unaware of its future success. In the world of Bitcoin, he will leave his academic career in 2014 to work exclusively on the project of Satoshi hoping to create his own platform, which will come alive the same year he is celebrating his twentieth birthday. This new Bitcoin will be named Ethereum.
Vitalik Buterin, a teenager like no other.
Where young people learn to get out of their comfort zones, some are studying, others are interested in exploring the social world, in other cases like Vitalik’s, it’s the entrepreneurial spirit that is already implemented in the head.
Originally from Kolomna in Moscow, the young Vitalik Buterin spends his time tampering with the world of internet and computer programming. He will not wait long before earning his first reward in geek competitions like computer Olympics where he will bring back a bronze medal.
At seven, he wrote a complex and apparently very complete document according to his father, Dmitry. It is called “The encyclopedia of rabbits” and would be full of mathematical formulas and various graphics and calculations. Very early, he is therefore considered as an exceptional child and is placed in a class for gifted kids.
“I remember being considered somewhat different in a sense, when I was five or six, my classmates talked about me as a math genius, and when I realized that, I thought and asked myself, why am I not like the majority of people to succeed 75% of the questions? “
The fiery genius.
As a teenager, he is passionate about numbers and mathematics. Soon, he discovers a certain ease for coding.
When Bitcoin was created in 2009, Vitalik was just a teenager spending most of his days behind his computer playing World of Warcraft. It is only at 17, that he gets tired of the game and seeks a new occupation. Vitalik Buterin, then a young adult, will hear about Bitcoin.
Having dual Russian-Canadian nationality, his move to the American continent and the birth of Bitcoin will blow him a new idea centered on the cryptocurrency market.
As a computer lover, he devotes most of his time to studying the decentralized platform at the same time he is studying at the University of Waterloo. In 2014, Vitalik decided to stop studying at the institution to concentrate totally on the development of his personal blockchain.
Inspired by the success and brilliance of Bitcoin, Buterin has taken all his time to study it from all sides, be it in terms of programming, marketing characteristics, operating conditions and the ecosystem of the platform. After this long moment of observation (which began in 2011 anyway), the young prodigy launches Ethereum, a Blockchain inspired by Bitcoin while displaying a more flexible and accessible feature. The Ethereum network will also be powered by its new currency, Ether (ETH).
Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum project.
Although he is a contributor to several network projects like kitbitcointools or kirptokit, the name of Vitalik will be retained by the majority only as the designer of Ethereum.
The reason for this is that the Russian-Canadian has prepared his project in parallel with studies of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Progress and research related to the latter remain subject to the notoriety of large cryptocurrency while his Blockchain project, Ethereum, which is the main competitor of Bitcoin is more interesting in the eyes of crypto-enthusiasts.
The birth of Ethereum and its cryptocurrency Ether celebrates the success of Vitalik with its open philosophy and broader capability in terms of economic opportunity. The Ethereum Blockchain takes the good foundations of Bitcoin by a decentralized structure but digs its own tunnel at the level of the exploitation.
Ethereum is a more accessible platform than Bitcoin (at least on its release). Moreover, Ethereum, is like the second generation of crypto-currencies. Just like the web that went from passive to active (web 2.0), the Ethereum Blockchain is surrounded by a technology called dApps, Decentralized Applications. These are mini programs that identify the terms and conditions of a property or value through Ether currency. We can therefore use the Ethereum network to close a sale that includes the parameters of delay, payment, invoices, etc… Thanks to smart contracts, something that can not be done on Bitcoin.
Here is a video with Vitalik Buterin (Founder of Ethereum) explaining what is Ethereum:
Vitalik Buterin, what else?
At the time of creating Ethereum, the young prodigy in mathematics and computer science was only 19 years old. His personality remains his strength, since being among the 40 most influential people in the world (according to Fortune), Vitalik still refuses to get out of his Geek bubble (with his psychedelic t-shirts). This view of the world, not influenced by money or fame, gives hope to a large number of investors who are waiting day by day for Buterin to release a new and equally revolutionary program.
You can read our article about Ethereum: What is Ethereum?