Vitalik Buterin
The Russian-Canadian programmer who proposed Ethereum in 2013 and remains its most influential public figure.
Buterin published the Ethereum white paper at age 19, arguing that a blockchain could run arbitrary programs, not just track payments. The network launched in 2015 with several co-founders.
He has no formal authority over Ethereum, yet his writing steers it. He pushed the move to proof of stake and championed rollups for scaling. He also writes long essays on everything from privacy to public goods. Critics say one person should not hold that much sway over a 'decentralized' system.
Related terms
A 2016 exploit that drained millions from a flagship Ethereum project and forced a contentious hard fork.
DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization)An organization governed by token holders voting on-chain, where rules and treasury live in smart contracts instead of a boardroom.
Proof of Stake (PoS)A consensus method where validators lock up coins as collateral instead of burning electricity to secure the chain.
Layer 2A separate network built on top of a base chain to process transactions faster and far more cheaply.