“Blockchain is not just about cryptocurrencies”
Vitalik Buterin, 23, is the co-founder of Ethereum, a blockchain-based platform that makes it possible for any developer to write and distribute next-generation decentralized applications, without third-party interference. In November 2013, Buterin wrote the Ethereum Whitepaper on Scalable Blockchain Protocols, defending the need of a protocol with a much more general purpose.
When did you discover Blockchain?
In 2011, but I did not get too interested in it. I thought: “You have a virtual currency and you cannot pay anything. How is it supposed to have any value at all?”. Then, I heard about it a couple of times more on the Internet and I figured: “This must be something serious that is worth I look into”. So, I started researching, getting in the community, writing about Bitcoin…
In 2013, I developed Bitcoin software projects, I cofounded a Bitcoin magazine and I drop out of university to work full time. At that time, people were starting to realise that the Blockchain could be used for a lot more things than just as a currency.
How did the Bitcoin community help you?
When I got into Bitcoin, I wanted to discover how the technology works, but I also wanted to find some way to get Bitcoins. I went through forums and someone offered me a job. I wrote articles for an online blog and I got 5 bitcoins per article (about $4).
What really attracted me was the fact that just a community of people acting together over the Internet could build an alternative almost from scratch, without involving any existing institutions.
When did you realise it was going to represent a big impact in our lives?
The fact that no one thought before about developing a general purpose Blockchain made me think that, as soon as I published it, cryptographers would send me e-mails explaining why it is a stupid idea and it is never going to work. But, to my surprise, that never happened. The motivation and interest I got was much larger than I expected, the Ethereum community started forming and about half a year later we created the foundation.
When did you have the idea to start Ethereum?
The idea behind Ethereum started when I realised that Blockchain was not just about cryptocurrencies, but about all the other applications the technology enables. When I realised the need to have a protocol as a much more general purpose, to avoid modifying the basic Blockchain every time you want to do something new.
What is the current situation of Ethereum?
The Ethereum roadmap is far from complete and it is still going to take another 3 to 5 years. Lots of people complain about the limitations on the number of transactions and users Blockchain can handle and we really want to improve it. We are also trying to incorporate some innovations regarding privacy and security. People recognise that our roadmap is in parallel with the growth of the capabilities the technology offers.
What is the relation between quantum computing and Blockchain?
Quantum computing creates a new kind of computer which allows us to solve certain problems very quickly which were previously very difficult to work out. Blockchain, in general, relies crucially on cryptography for security and there are quite a lot cryptographic algorithms that will be very easy to break once quantum computers become accessible.
However, there are encryption algorithms and forms of cryptography that are quantum safe, but still need to be implemented. We are making some early steps to try to make the Blockchain friendlier by adding new cryptographic algorithms over the time, so that users can switch them when they feel they need more security.
Do you find the collaboration between startups and corporations positive?
We strongly believe in collaboration and in being open to different communities whether they are geographically different, startups, banks, governments… We benefit from collaboration.
A lot of the challenges corporates are trying to figure out are similar to the kind of problems startups and smaller volunteer projects are trying to solve in Blockchain.
