Most Influential 2021: Vitalik Buterin

Vitalik Buterin, a Russian-Canadian programmer, is the co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain and (nearly as important) Bitcoin Magazine. Some of his earliest writing still influences the cryptocurrency industry today. Take DAOs, or decentralized autonomous organizations, which Buterin wrote about in the Ethereum white paper (2013) and took prominence this year. One of the richest crypto founders, but humble to a T, Buterin often seems motivated more by a desire to build digital “public goods,” than money. That’s why he may have donated millions of dollars worth of “dog tokens” sent to him unsolicited to COVID-19 and transhumanist causes.

The Complete List: CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2021

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