Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, revolutionized blockchain technology by introducing smart contracts and decentralized applications beyond Bitcoin's digital currency focus. Born in 1994 in Russia and raised in Canada, Buterin published the groundbreaking Ethereum whitepaper in 2013 and successfully launched the platform in 2015, establishing himself as a leading architect of Web3 infrastructure. With a current net worth of approximately $1.04 billion from his 240,042 ETH holdings, Buterin continues shaping Ethereum's evolution through proposals to simplify protocol architecture while maintaining programmability advantages. His influence extends beyond technology into philanthropy, supporting AI safety, medical research, and humanitarian causes through substantial cryptocurrency donations. Today, Buterin focuses on making Ethereum more accessible to developers, scaling transaction capacity tenfold, and advancing decentralized systems that empower users globally.