From uni drop out to self-made crypto billionaire, Vitalik Buterin is kicking goals with Ethereum

The creator of the increasingly popular cryptocurrency, Ethereum is now officially a billionaire.

Vitalik Buterin is a 27-year-old Russian-Canadian who created the virtual currency in 2015 at the age of 19.

Prior to launching the company, Buterin cofounded (and wrote for) Bitcoin Magazine.

Ethereum skyrockets 375 percent

The creator of Ethereum now has around 335,500 ether in his wallet. This equates to more than 1.1 billion dollars, making Buterin a billionaire.

Ether prices have skyrocketed in the first part of 20-21, soaring 375 percent. The crypto now has the second-largest market value.

In late April, the Russian-Canadian programmer donated both 100 Ether and 100 Maker (MKR) tokens to a COVID-19 relief fund for India.

Crypto rises in popularity

The Ethereum cryptocurrency has a market capitalization of $376 billion, second only to bitcoin’s $1.08 trillion. But it’s quickly catching up to the crypto giant.

This places the cryptocurrency as more valuable than Elon Musk’s meme, Dogecoin.

Ether value has surged since the beginning of the year, largely due to the rising popularity of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Crypto disrupts old money

Even the traditional players are beginning to recognise the importance of embracing crypto, including luxury auction house Sotheby.

Sotheby also will be jumping on the crypto bandwagon, saying they’ll accept payments in Bitcoin and Ethereum at an upcoming Banksy auction.

The 277-year-old auction house says that it’s the first of its kind to accept cryptocurrency as payment for a physical piece of art.

“Fittingly, the pairing brings together the biggest disruptor in finance with one of the most notable disruptors in the art world – Banksy,” Sotheby said.