I watched this documentary on October 19, 2024, but I’ve been putting off writing this article until now.

Vitalik lives a digital nomad lifestyle, and his presence can be felt all around the world.

Note: The following sections are arranged based on my notes taken while watching the documentary. That’s why Vitalik’s early life isn’t the first heading, as it follows my viewing experience rather than a chronological order.

Vitalik’s Background

Vitalik’s journey into cryptocurrency began in high school when he first encountered Bitcoin. While in Barcelona, he discovered a community that was self-sufficient using Bitcoin. This experience led him to envision cryptocurrency as more than just a payment system, which ultimately inspired the creation of Ethereum. His observations of insects and nature helped him understand the concept of “ecosystems”. He built a decentralized system based on cryptography and internet fundamentals.

What Ethereum Means to Its Members

For its community, Ethereum represents freedom. It offers a solution when banks close or seize people’s money. The platform has created opportunities for artists through NFTs. Ethereum breaks down barriers of culture, language, and race. It enables direct peer-to-peer services, removing the need for centralized companies.

Early Life

Born in 1994, three years after the Soviet Union’s collapse, Vitalik grew up in an unstable Russia. The Soviet Union’s extreme centralization had caused people’s savings to become worthless after its fall. When Putin came to power, Vitalik’s father, fearing the rise of authoritarianism, decided to move to Canada. Young Vitalik loved Excel and at age seven created the “Bunny Encyclopedia”, a fantasy work reflecting the real world. It featured rabbits with their own banks, economy, and magic, filled with mathematical calculations and statistics. He thinks so fast that his speech sometimes struggles to keep up, making him appear to stutter.

As someone also born in 1994, I both admire and, admittedly, feel a tinge of envy towards Vitalik’s achievements. My only connection to him now might be that I’m developing DeFi applications using the Ethereum he invented. I’m grateful to him for creating job opportunities for developers like me.

Others’ Perspectives

Vitalik fits the stereotype of a technical founder - innocent yet technically powerful. The 2011-2012 global protests and the 2008 financial crisis revealed flaws in democracy that influenced his thinking.

Ethereum’s Rocky Start

The founding members had different visions, particularly regarding profit versus non-profit approaches. Vitalik saw profit as “dirty”, believing it would lead to shareholder control. In Switzerland, at the “Spaceship” building where Ethereum began, the biggest challenge was getting the founders to work together. Eventually, Vitalik had to remove some members who weren’t aligned with the project’s ideals.

When Ethereum officially launched, it became a computer without an off switch - an internet operated by everyone, much like the original vision of the internet.

Ethereum’s Growth and Challenges

The environmental impact of Ethereum’s Proof of Work system led to the need for a PoS upgrade. The biggest challenge was reaching consensus among all network participants. During the NFT craze, Vitalik worried about speculation bubbles. He saw how Ethereum could empower worthless things and attract speculators who might corrupt the ecosystem. The WeirdVitalik incident crossed his personal boundaries.

Tim O’Reilly noted in an interview that innovation continues until scalable solutions are found, and technology rarely develops according to its founders’ original vision.

Ethereum’s Security

According to Chainalysis and the FBI, by 2022, North Korea had stolen $1.7 billion through cryptocurrency theft. Vitalik acknowledges his responsibility as a founder while believing in the technology’s worth. He draws parallels to Einstein and nuclear weapons, noting that nuclear research led to many beneficial applications.

Ethereum’s Social Responsibility

During Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, when Ukrainian banks were under cyber attack, “Ukraine DAO” raised funds through Ethereum. Vitalik expressed regret about his 2017 engagement with the Russian government. The DAO raised $8 million for Ukraine.

Faith in Ethereum

During the 2022 crypto crash and NFT collapse, global confidence in blockchain technology fell. Vitalik aims to move beyond bull and bear cycles. O’Reilly believes the crypto bubble’s burst will reveal truly valuable applications. After Ukraine’s invasion, Vitalik showed support by attending the Kyiv Tech Summit. While bubbles burst, sustainable usage continues, as seen in Argentina where people use Ethereum for daily transactions due to high inflation. Vitalik fears bull markets most, as they bring back speculation.

My Thoughts on Ethereum

Bitcoin is like gold, with its fixed supply. Its UTXO structure makes it hard for developers to explore new use cases. In contrast, Ethereum works more like a banking system that keeps improving. Recently, many people think Ethereum’s development is too slow, but I disagree. As the software grows bigger, changes in one part affect many others. Even regular software can’t be changed easily, let alone Ethereum which needs consensus from its community. However, I hope Ethereum won’t become like Bitcoin, where changes are almost impossible. I wish Vitalik and his team can find the right balance between stability and progress, and keep moving Ethereum forward.

Ethereum’s Future

Decentralized identity verification applications are rising. Ethereum’s successful upgrade to PoS (surrounded by geeks throughout the process) reduced global energy consumption by 0.2% and its own energy use by 99.95%.