Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About Vitalik Buterin

Vitalik Buterin is the co-founder of Ethereum. The 28-year-old is also a founder of Bitcoin Magazine and has been involved in the cryptocurrency world since 2011. You probably know about Vitalik Buterin for his involvement in the crypto world, but let’s dive into some less known facts!

He is Big on Donations

Buterin is a wealthy man, with a fortune documented at $100 million in April 2018. But he’s not hoarding his money, as he has been making sizable donations to charitable causes. Vitalik Buterin is a big fan of volunteering and charity work. Here are some examples of times he has made sizable donations towards charitable causes.

On April 4th 2022, Buterin donated $5 million in Ethereum to Ukraine relief efforts. He also donated almost $1 billion to help the India covid relief fund. Vitalik also donated over $50 million to GiveWell. He cares about specific causes and uses his wealth for good. 

He is a University Drop Out

Vitalik attended the University of Waterloo, where he studied computer science. He was also a research assistant, working alongside Ian Goldberg, the cryptographer who co-created Off-the-Record Messaging and was the former board of directors chairman of the Tor Project. 

Vitalik left university at 19 years old to pursue his career in technology. He wanted to explore new ideas in financial systems and cryptocurrencies — two things that were not taught in school or university courses — so he started writing about them on Bitcoin forums and websites like Reddit. He created a blog called Bitcoin Market Journal, which focused on studying markets related to cryptocurrency trading, mining, investing, and so on. 

Google Reached out to Hire Him

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s creator, has recently joked that Google tried to recruit him on an intern salary. As reported by Crypto Briefing, this was due to automated outreach methods flaggin him as a potential candidate (no wonder with his qualifications!).

The post reads: “Google contacted me on Twitter. They said they have a job opening for a cryptocurrency researcher, and if I’m interested, they can send me an offer letter or something. I told them I didn’t want to be associated with such a company that censors content and violates users’ privacy.”

Vitalik’s response is not surprising since he has already mentioned that he does not like Google’s stance on censorship and data collection. This was also confirmed by his tweet, where he stated: “I am not surprised at all that Google is trying to get into blockchain because they definitely realise that the technology is important and they need to be involved in some way.”

Rumours of his Death Spread like a Wildfire

In 2017 it was rumoured that Vitalik Buterin had died, which caused a massive crash in the price of Ethereum. Rumours of Vitalik Buterin’s death spread like wildfire on social media, with various news sites reporting that the Ethereum co-founder had been killed in a car accident. 

The story originated from a troll account on 4chan but went viral on Twitter. The tweet claimed that Buterin was involved in an accident near Tbilisi International Airport while on his way to visit the city’s Blockchain Week conference. Buterin’s real Twitter account later confirmed that he was alive and well. 

Conclusion

Vitalik Buterin is a prodigy when it comes to blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. It’s clear that Ethereum will be the centre stage in the decentralised future; however, predicting the future outcome of blockchains such as Ethereum is like placing a bet at a casino like Platincasino IE, no one can be really sure, but there’s always a chance. However, what is certain is that Buterin seems to keep the general interest of Ethereum in mind rather than his own. The young entrepreneur’s current feats are already mind-blowing, but who knows what other successes he will manage to accrue in the future!