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thisCrowd - Audio Read
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ETHDenver, a week-long gathering entirely focused on a fascinating form of digital money called cryptocurrency. With eager participants having lined up for days to join in the excitement, an unexpected occurrence adds a touch of intrigue to the festivities.
As everyone enters the conference place, a skinny guy with a mischievous smile rushes out, surprising everyone around him. People shout for him to stay, but he’s too quick, disappearing into his hotel lobby. It’s like he’s a mysterious character in the middle of a party.
Vitalik Buterin, the big dog in the world of crypto. But he’s not here to party – he’s not into fun stuff like that. Unlike most people at the conference, he doesn’t drink, and he has a different reason to celebrate – the success of Ethereum. This is a special kind of computer technology he came up with nine years ago. Ethereum isn’t just digital money; it’s also like the foundation of a new internet that’s not controlled by anyone. Its own money, called Ether, is the second most valuable digital money after Bitcoin.
But this rise of new digital money has its problems too. Buterin is watching as Ethereum, the thing he made, becomes both good and bad. Some people get super rich from it, but it also causes problems like hurting the environment, people not paying taxes, and lots of tricky schemes. The morning after the big ETHDenver party, Buterin talks about his worries. He’s concerned about people getting too excited about making money, fees for transactions getting too high, and people showing off their wealth too much. He knows that there could be bad things happening because of all this digital money.
But in the world where people are all about showing off, Buterin has a different idea for Ethereum. He wants it to be used for important things, like fair ways of voting, making cities better, and even giving money to everyone. He even dreams of it helping to fight against bosses who have too much power and changing the way big companies control our digital lives. But he’s worried that people will only care about getting rich quick and forget about making the world better.
Now, let’s rewind to when Buterin was 19 years old. That’s when he wrote the plan for Ethereum. He thought it could be a better version of Bitcoin, a special kind of digital money. The big change was that Ethereum could do more than just be money. It could also do smart contracts, like fancy computer programs. These smart contracts could work using something called the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which is like a computer world on top of the digital money. This special idea made it possible for all sorts of cool apps to be made on Ethereum.
Buterin’s dad, Dmitry Buterin, is the one who introduced him to Bitcoin when he was 17. But at that time, Buterin didn’t think much about it.
Back to when Buterin was a kid – he was super smart. When he and his family moved from Russia to Canada, he was put in a special class for really smart kids. He got interested in money stuff, computer programming, and math. And get this, he could do math in his head way faster than other kids.
Now, let’s talk money. Buterin is thought to be worth between $400 to $500 million. That’s because he has a lot of Ether, the digital money he helped create. He also has a bunch of Bitcoin.
But Buterin isn’t just a computer genius; he’s a great writer too. He started by writing about Bitcoin on the internet and got paid in Bitcoin for each article. He even helped start a big magazine all about cryptocurrency. He was even the top writer for that magazine.
Then there’s a surprising part of the story. Buterin dropped out of university in 2014 to get a big grant and work on his Ethereum project. This was when Ethereum was getting started and people were buying Ether.
And here’s a weird thing that happened. In 2017, there was a rumor that Buterin died in a car accident. This news wasn’t true, but it made the value of Ether go down a lot.
In retrospect, Vitalik Buterin’s journey stands as a testament to the fusion of visionary ideas with technological innovation. From his audacious creation of Ethereum at the tender age of 19 to his unwavering commitment to steering the platform towards enhancing society, Buterin’s impact on the blockchain realm is profound. As Ethereum continues to evolve and transform, guided by his leadership, it’s evident that Buterin’s legacy goes beyond code – it’s a narrative of a young mind’s ability to shape the future with both brilliance and responsibility.
