Vitalik Buterin has accumulated a huge net worth thanks to his $ETH holdings. What is Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin's estimated net worth?
Key Points:
Vitalik Buterin’s net worth is directly linked to the price of $ETH.
As a co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik received a large stash of $ETH before it went public.
Vitalik became the world’s youngest billionaire during the bull market in 2021.
Vitalik Buterin is Ethereum’s most well-known co-founders and one of the most respected figures in the crypto space. He’s one of Ethereum’s biggest advocates, and his comments on the world of crypto are generally taken seriously by casual traders and serious investors alike. This post will tell you about Vitalik Buterin’s net worth in 2023 and uncover his personal story.
Who Is Vitalik Buterin?
Vitalik Buterin was born on January 31, 1994, in Kolomna, Russia, and moved to Canada at the age of six, where he has since acquired citizenship. From a young age, he took an interest in computer programming and mathematics.
He studied at Waterloo University, where he also worked as a research assistant to Ian Goldberg, a respected cryptographer. Around 2011, he discovered Bitcoin and quickly became fascinated by blockchain technology. The same year, he founded Bitcoin Magazine and began working on his own blockchain concepts.
Vitalik dropped out of university and received a $100k grant from Peter Thiel’s fellowship program to work full-time on Ethereum. In 2013, Vitalik began discussing his ideas about Ethereum with other developers.
By 2014, the Ethereum whitepaper was ready to be published. Alongside a handful of other blockchain enthusiasts, including Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, and Anthony Di Iorio, he deployed Ethereum.
Since deploying Ethereum, Vitalik has remained closely linked to the project. He has guided the development of the leading smart contract platform through several major upgrades, including the ‘merge’, which saw it transition from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).
What Is Vitalik Buterin’s Net Worth in 2023?
Vitalik Buterin became the world’s youngest billionaire at the age of just 27 when $ETH crossed above $3k in 2021. Most estimates believe that the Ethereum founder is no longer a billionaire due to the bear market. Vitalik Buterin’s net worth in 2023 is estimated to be around $400 million based on his $ETH holdings. He likely has other sources of wealth, but most analysts don’t believe they’d amount to enough to impact his net worth significantly.
Although he occasionally sells $ETH, for example, earlier this month, he moved $1 million worth of the crypto to a CEX; he’s still one of the biggest $ETH whales. So, even though Vitalik Buterin has lost a considerable chunk of his net worth during the bear market, he’s also likely to recover it quickly if we see another bull run.
Ethereum Price History
Ethereum ($ETH) has come a long way since Vitalik developed the idea as a university dropout. $ETH leads the altcoin market with a capitalisation of just under $200 billion, making it only second to Bitcoin ($BTC).
In 2018, during the first $ETH bull run, its price surged above $1k temporarily before dropping below $150 again during the following bear market. In 2020, it traded around $200 with a fairly stable price.
During the 2021 bull market, Vitalik became a billionaire thanks to $ETH’s massive price surge. In October 2020, $ETH’s price rose towards $400, and it spiked above $2.5k in early 2021. After a brief pause, the rally continued, and $ETH hit its current all-time high of $4.6k in November 2021.
Since 2021, $ETH has seen a considerable drop in value, and as a result, Vitalik Buterin’s net worth has also been slashed. It dropped below $3k fairly quickly and continued to struggle before reaching a yearly low of just under $1k during the FTX collapse at the end of 2022.
In 2023, $ETH has shown signs of recovery. In January, its price began to rally, and by February, it was above $1.5k. In April, it reached $2k, resulting in a 100% gain from its 2022 lows. In recent months, $ETH has given up some of its YTD gains as it trades around $1.65k, but it's still up over 35%.
Ethereum Price Predictions
It’s been an interesting year for $ETH. The nightmare of 2022 hasn’t been repeated, and YTD has outperformed most assets. However, we’re still a long way from seeing new all-time highs. The Ethereum price predictions are generally bullish, and if the long-term projections come true, they could put Vitalik back in the billionaire club.
Coincodex expects $ETH to perform well for the next month by moving above $1.7k. Next year, their maximum price target suggests a new all-time high is possible, and by 2024, even their minimum price target is above $4k.
AMBCrypto has set a $2k end-of-year average target price, suggesting double-digit gains in the next couple of months. In 2024, they don’t expect any massive gains, with an average price target of $1.8k. The earliest they have forecast a new all-time high is in 2028.
Conclusion
Vitalik Buterin’s vision for a smart contract blockchain has been one of the most important technological developments of the 21st century. The Ethereum project built on Bitcoin’s core ideas and turned it into software with unlimited potential. While Vitalik’s main aim was almost certainly not to get rich, his idea ended up making him the youngest billionaire in the world, and even after the 2022 bear market, his net worth has remained above $400 million.
