The founder of the Ethereum Network, Vitalik Buterin, has just made the Forbes list of 30 under 30 of 2017.
The list is a prestigious achievement for entrepreneurs, business leaders, hedge fund investors and many others who are all underneath the age of 30.
The ranking is well-known for featuring rising stars of finance, hedge funds, and from this year onwards, also cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
The recent cryptocurrency mania resulted in a public shift from cryptocurrency being considered as a dark web tool, to a financial instrument and the future of technology.
What Does It Mean For Vitalik Buterin?
Vitalik Buterin is only 23 years old, and he has already managed to revolutionise the world of technology by challenging the first cryptocurrency – Bitcoin.
Ethereum doesn’t function just as a store of value but more like the world computer for decentralised applications.
The value of Ether skyrocketed in 2017, and Buterin is now a leader of a currency which capitalisation can be valued at $30 billion.
The recent Byzantium hard fork brought, even more, attention to Ethereum as it was one of the first hard forks in history that was performed so smoothly.
What’s more – in 2018 we should be expecting the second part of the Metropolis update, which will allow switching from the proof-of-work to proof-of-stake.
While Ethereum will keep on growing, the Forbes list will help Buterin himself as well.
He not only has already been awarded the prestigious Thiel Fellowship but also became one of the youngest innovators on a global scale.
What’s Next for Ethereum?
Ethereum has been through some controversies recently due to its vulnerability and bugs that severely affected the network.
However, the upcoming Constantinople fork might be a solution to pending questions. The details of the fork will be released in early 2018, but it will likely introduce improvements to the security.
Regardless of its price, Ethereum has one significant advantage on the cryptocurrency market – its leader. Something that Bitcoin doesn’t and will never have.
Bitcoin keeps on continuously going through meanders of conflicts and lack of consensus; hence its development will always be slower.
In the meantime, Ethereum thrives for gradual improvements and is open to innovation – with Vitalik Buterin as the primary driver.
Saying that it doesn’t mean that Ethereum is a lone wolf on the market.
Even though blockchain technology is still an unknown concept to the majority, IOTA’s Tangle is already predicted to be the next big thing and the replacement.
And not even the fact that Vitalik Buterin made the Forbes List of 30 under 30 might stop Ethereum from eventually becoming outdated.
