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The youngest crypto billionaire and co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain project. What you need to know about the programmer who made a fortune on the second most popular cryptocurrency
Blockchain is a decentralized database. Information from it lies not on one computer, but on the computers of all users – participants in the blockchain. Thanks to this, it is impossible to quietly change or delete information: any change will be “checked” by other computers. To better understand how the blockchain works, our cards will help:
Who is Vitalik Buterin and why is everyone talking about him?
He is one of the founders of Ethereum, the largest blockchain platform and altcoin (as cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin are called. — Trends). Buterin launched the first version of Ethereum in 2013, when he was only 19 years old. In May 2021, when Buterin was 27, he became the youngest crypto billionaire. True, not for long: after the jump in the exchange rate, Buterin’s fortune decreased by almost 40% and at the time of writing this material is estimated at approximately $850 million.
Vitalik was born in our country, and at the age of six he moved with his parents to Canada. He has been interested in crypto since childhood. At the age of 17, he became a co-founder and editor of Bitcoin Magazine. Passion for cryptocurrencies did not leave time for study, and Vitalik left the university. As a result, he received a $100 grant from the Thiel Fellowship. This fund is the brainchild of Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal. So he supports young people who decide to focus on the development of personal projects instead of studying.
What is Ethereum and why is it needed
Ethereum is both a payment system and a blockchain application development platform. The code for such applications runs on a distributed network rather than on a centralized server. Thanks to this, applications cannot be censored.
Before Ethereum was launched, developers needed to create a new blockchain for each application. Ethereum has made it possible to create many different applications based on the blockchain on the same platform.
The technology has received the greatest distribution in the financial industry: new decentralized online services (DeFi) are constantly appearing in this area. These applications are created as a replacement for traditional financial institutions: banks and insurance companies. With the help of applications, any user can receive a financial service, for example, lending, without contacting a bank. To date, most of these applications are based on the Ethereum blockchain.
Ethereum is also the second largest cryptocurrency in the world with a market capitalization of $389 billion. Its exchange units are called ether. Now Ethereum is second only to Bitcoin, which has a capitalization of $1,05 trillion.
How Ethereum differs from Bitcoin
Technically, both systems work similarly: when conducting transactions, they use a set of scripts. However, Ethereum has an important advantage: the Buterin system can adapt to different tasks, while Bitcoin has a limited set of scenarios. Buterin is confident that bitcoin will soon lose its leading position, as it is in dire need of improving the technological base. In April 2021, the Ethereum network underwent a network upgrade that resulted in lower transaction fees.
How Vitalik became a currency crypto billionaire for two weeks
On May 4, 2021, Vitalik Buterin’s fortune exceeded $1 billion. By May 12, the amount of his assets approached $1,4 billion. However, Vitalik did not stay in the status of a currency crypto billionaire for long: on May 19, Ethereum fell sharply in price.
The cryptocurrency market collapsed due to Elon Musk’s tweet. The founder of Tesla called bitcoin unenvironmental and announced that he refuses to accept the largest cryptocurrency as payment for cars. Around the same time, China introduced new methods of financial regulation: the authorities banned local financial institutions from working with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
What kind of tokens did Buterin burn and why
In May 2021, Vitalik Buterin received 505 trillion Shiba Inu coins from the developers of this cryptocurrency. This made Buterin the largest holder of Shiba Inu tokens. However, Vitalik decided to get rid of them. He burned 90% of $6,5 billion worth of Shiba Inu coins by sending them to a non-existent address.
According to Buterin himself, he did this for security reasons and to avoid speculation in further transactions. However, according to experts, this could be a PR move to draw attention to the Ethereum platform.