Who Created Ethereum?

In 2008, an unknown developer (or developer group) invented bitcoin as a new way to send value over the internet. Four years later, a 19-year-old dreamed up a new platform based off of this innovation in an effort to transform the internet entirely.

Vitalik Buterin, a programmer from Toronto, first grew interested in bitcoin in 2011.

He co-founded the online news website Bitcoin Magazine in the same year, writing hundreds of articles on the cryptocurrency world. He went on to code for the privacy-minded Dark Wallet and the marketplace Egora.

Along the way, he came up with the idea of a platform that would go beyond the financial use cases allowed by bitcoin. He released a white paper in 2013 describing an alternative platform designed for any type of decentralized application developers would want to build. The system was called ethereum.

Ethereum makes it easy to create smart contracts, self-enforcing code that developers can tap for a range of applications.

For his work, Buterin was named a 2014 Thiel fellow, a contest that awards winners $100,000.
Growing community
After Buterin unveiled the ethereum white paper, other developers joined ranks.

Co-founder Dr Gavin Wood wrote the ethereum yellow paper, the "technical bible" that outlines the specification for the ethereum virtual machine (EVM) that handles the state of the ledger and runs smart contracts, for example (see: How Ethereum Works).

Co-founder Joseph Lubin went on to found the Brooklyn-based ConsenSys, a startup that focuses on building decentralized apps.

To get the project off the ground, Buterin and the other founders launched a crowdfunding campaign in July 2014 where participants purchased ether, or the ethereum tokens that function as shares in the project. (See: What is Ether?).

Raising more than $18m, it was then the most successful crowdsale to date at the time. It took another year, but the first live release, Frontier, launched on 30th July, 2015. It wasn't a sexy platform, but the command line interface offered developers a platform for creating their own decentralized apps.

The smart contract platform took off, swelling into today's ecosystem of hundreds of developers and even drawing the attention of tech giants like IBM and Microsoft.

The funds from ethereum's initial $18m crowdsale and project development are now managed by the Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit entity based in Switzerland.

Authored by Alyssa Hertig; Coindesk

NEXT: HOW ETHEREUM MINING WORKS

INDEX: A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO BITCOIN AND BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY


What is Bitcoin?
It’s a decentralized digital currency


Why Use Bitcoin?
It’s fast, cheap to use, and secure


How Can I Buy Bitcoin?
From an exchange or an individual


How to Buy Bitcoin in the UK
Buying bitcoin in the UK


How to Store Your Bitcoin
Use a digital or paper wallet


What Can You Buy with Bitcoin?
Spend your bitcoins


How to Sell Bitcoin
A guide on how to sell your bitcoins


How to Accept Bitcoin Payments for Your Store
Learn about bitcoin POS systems


How do Bitcoin Transactions Work?
Bitcoin addresses and private keys


Is Bitcoin Legal?
The current regulation around bitcoin


Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
The founder of bitcoin


How Bitcoin Mining Works
By confirming transactions


How to Set Up a Bitcoin Miner
Generate bitcoins yourself


What are Bitcoin Mining Pools?
What are pools how and how to join them?


How Does Cloud Mining Bitcoin Work?
Alternative bitcoin mining solutions


How to Calculate Mining Profitability
Can you make a ROI?


How to Make a Paper Bitcoin Wallet
Creating an unhackable bitcoin wallet


Can Bitcoin Scale?
A look at the debate and the tech


What is SegWit?
A new way of storing transaction data


What is the Lightning Network?
Off-chain transaction channels


What is Bitcoin Cash?
Same blockchain, different characteristics.


Hard Fork vs Soft Fork
Why and how do blockchains split?


What is the Difference Between Litecoin and Bitcoin?
It’s the silver to bitcoin’s gold


How to Buy Litecoin
How to buy the bitcoin alternative litecoin


How to Mine Litecoin and other Altcoins
How to generate your own altcoins


Understanding Bitcoin Price Charts
A primer on bitcoin price charts


Bitcoin E-Commerce Services for Merchants
How to accept bitcoin at your business


What is Blockchain Technology?
A system of distributed data and logic


How Does Blockchain Technology Work?
Cryptographic keys, distributed networks and network servicing protocols


What Can a Blockchain Do?
Identity, recordkeeping, smart contracts and more


What is a Distributed Ledger?
A dynamic, independently maintained database


What is the Difference Between Public and Permissioned Blockchains?
Can anyone read or write to the ledger?


What is the Difference Between a Blockchain and a Database?
It begins with architectural and administrative decisions


What Are the Applications and Use Cases of Blockchains?
Tokenization, auditing, governance, settlement and more


How Could Blockchain Technology Change Finance?
Cross-border payments, new asset classes, regulatory compliance and more


What are Blockchain’s Issues and Limitations?
Complexity, size, costs, speed, security, politics and more


Why Use a Blockchain?
To manage and secure digital relationships as part of a system of record


What is Ethereum?
A blockchain application platform and ‘world computer’


What is Ether?
The ‘fuel’ of the ethereum network


How to Use Ethereum
Wallets, trading and ‘dapps’


Who Created Ethereum?Vitalik Buterin
How Ethereum Mining Works‘Proof of Work’ and ‘Proof of Stake’
How to Mine EthereumGPUs, mining software and pools
How Ethereum Works‘Turing-complete’ programming, ‘state’ and the ‘EVM’
What is a Decentralized Application?A distributed ‘smart contract’ system
What is a DAO?A ‘decentralized autonomous organization’
How Do Ethereum Smart Contracts Work?Code, transaction fees and ‘gas’
How Will Ethereum Scale?‘Sharding’ and ‘off-chain’ transactions
What is an ICO?Initial Coin Offerings refer to the distribution of digital tokens.

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