Proof of Stake

The ideas behind Ethereum in the words of its founder, describing a radical vision for more than a digital currency—reinventing organisations, economics, and democracy itself in the age of the internet.

At only nineteen years old Vitalik Buterin
published a visionary paper outlining the ideas behind
what would become Ethereum. He proposed to take what
Bitcoin did for currency – to end the central control of
governments and corporations – and apply it to society
as a whole. Now, less than a decade later, Ethereum
is the second-most-valuable cryptocurrency and has
opened the gates for the extraordinary new world of
NFT artworks, virtual real estate in the metaverse and
decentralised autonomous organisations.

The essays in Proof of Stake reveal Buterin as a lively,
creative thinker, relentlessly curious and adventurous
in exploring the fascinating social, economic and political
possibilities of his invention, and will guide future
generations of Ethereum’s community of radicals
and builders.

About the author

VITALIK BUTERIN is a Russian-Canadian programmer and writer who co-founded Bitcoin Magazine in 2011 and launched Ethereum in 2014. In 2021, he was named as one of TIME magazine’s most influential people.
NATHAN SCHNEIDER is an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. His most recent book is Everything for Everyone: The Radical Tradition that Is Shaping the Next Economy. He first interviewed Vitalik Buterin in 2014.