Vitalik
One prominent figure in the world of Ethereum is Vitalik Buterin. He is the co-founder of Ethereum, a decentralized blockchain platform. Vitalik's journey began in Russia, where he was born to parents who were computer scientists. At the age of six, he moved to Canada, and by the age of nine, he was recognized as a gifted child with a keen interest in mathematics, programming, and economics. At the age of 17, Vitalik's father introduced him to Bitcoin in 2011, sparking his fascination with cryptocurrencies. He went on to win a bronze medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics and became a research assistant to the cryptographer Ian Goldberg while studying at university.
At the age of 19, Vitalik embarked on a journey to meet Bitcoin enthusiasts around the world. It was during this time that he published the Ethereum whitepaper, outlining his vision for a decentralized platform that could support smart contracts and decentralized applications.
Vitalik's dedication to Ethereum caught the attention of Peter Thiel, who awarded him a grant of $100,000. With this financial support, Vitalik made the decision to drop out of university and focus full-time on developing Ethereum. Over the years, Vitalik's contributions to the crypto community have been significant. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Basel's Faculty of Economics at the age of 24. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in India, he donated $1 billion worth of the cryptocurrency Shiba Inu and Ether to relief funds.
Currently, at the age of 27, Vitalik continues to be a driving force behind Ethereum. The market capitalization of Ethereum has reached $509 billion, making it the second most valuable cryptocurrency after Bitcoin.