👉1. Background & childhood
Born in 1994 in Kolomna (Russia), moved to Canada with his family when he was just 6 years old.
Exhibited mathematical ability and logical thinking very early, was placed in a gifted students class from a young age.
Called a “mathematical prodigy” because he could mentally calculate complex numbers, learned programming from a very young age.
👉2. Journey into crypto
In 2011 (at 17 years old), Vitalik first heard about Bitcoin from his father. Initially skeptical, he later became fascinated.
In the same year, wrote articles for Bitcoin Weekly to earn extra money, then co-founded Bitcoin Magazine.
👉3. Founding Ethereum
Noticed Bitcoin was limited to being used as cryptocurrency, Vitalik wrote the Ethereum whitepaper in 2013.
Idea: build a “programmable” blockchain so that anyone can create decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts.
In 2014, he and a group of co-founders (Gavin Wood, Joseph Lubin, Charles Hoskinson, etc.) established the Ethereum Foundation.
👉4. Lifestyle
Unlike many other tech billionaires, Vitalik lives quite simply, without ostentation.
Often seen in rainbow t-shirts, flip-flops, sometimes trolling himself on Twitter.
Dislikes power, lives more towards research, philosophy, and technology rather than money.
👉5. Assets & contributions
Despite owning a huge crypto fortune (at times worth tens of billions USD), Vitalik frequently donates.
In 2021, he caused a stir by sending over 1 billion USD worth of SHIBA INU tokens to a COVID relief fund in India.
Was honored in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and many other technology awards.
👉6. Personality & philosophy
Known as the “technology philosopher” for often reflecting on the future of society, blockchain, and AI.
Believes that Ethereum is not just about finance, but also a tool to build a more transparent and fair society.
🫵 An “interesting fact” that many people do not know: Vitalik used to be addicted to playing World of Warcraft. When Blizzard (the publisher) removed a feature he liked, Vitalik felt “deprived of power,” and from then on became more determined to create a decentralized system – no one could control others.
🫵Information “Nicolas Kokkalis, founder of Pi Network, is Vitalik Buterin's teacher” is a false rumor, often appearing in the Pi community to elevate the project, but there is no academic evidence or official documentation confirming it.
