Remilia Wiki

Vitalik Buterin

Russian-Canadian computer programmer and co-founder of Ethereum
Vitalik Buterin
Vitalik Buterin
Born1994-01-31 January 31, 1994 (age 32)
NationalityRussian-Canadian
OccupationComputer programmer, researcher
Known forCo-founding Ethereum

Vitalik Buterin (Russian: Виталик Бутерин; born Vitaly Dmitrievich Buterin, 31 January 1994) is a Russian-Canadian computer programmer best known for co-founding Ethereum, the second-largest blockchain platform by market capitalization.[1] Buterin first described Ethereum in a white paper in November 2013, proposing a programmable blockchain capable of executing smart contracts — at the time, a significant expansion of what blockchains had been used for. Ethereum's infrastructure became the foundation for the NFT ecosystem, including Milady Maker and the broader Remilia Corporation project universe. Buterin has publicly affiliated himself with the Milady Maker collection on several occasions, using Milady NFTs as his profile picture and signing posts with "milady."

Early life and education

Buterin was born in Kolomna, Russia, to a family with roots in computer science; his father, Dmitry, was a computer scientist. When Buterin was six years old, his family emigrated to Canada seeking better employment opportunities. In elementary school he was placed into a class for gifted children and developed early interests in mathematics, programming, and economics. His father introduced him to Bitcoin in 2011, when Buterin was seventeen. He began writing for Bitcoin-focused publications shortly thereafter, earning small amounts of bitcoin in exchange, before co-founding Bitcoin Magazine in 2011 with Mihai Alisie — one of the first dedicated publications covering cryptocurrency.[2]

Buterin went on to study computer science at the University of Waterloo, but left in 2014 after receiving a US$100,000 Thiel Fellowship grant, which he used to pursue Ethereum full-time.

Ethereum

By 2013, Buterin had become convinced that Bitcoin's scripting language was too limited for broader application development. After failing to persuade the Bitcoin development community to expand its capabilities, he drafted the Ethereum white paper in November 2013, proposing a blockchain that could run arbitrary programs via smart contracts. The paper circulated widely and attracted a group of co-founders including Gavin Wood, Joseph Lubin, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio, and Mihai Alisie. Buterin publicly announced the project at the North American Bitcoin Conference in Miami in January 2014.

A crowdfunding campaign in mid-2014 raised approximately 31,000 BTC — around $18 million at the time — which funded the establishment of the Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit based in Zug, Switzerland. The Ethereum mainnet launched on 30 July 2015.[3]

Ethereum's programmable architecture made it the primary platform for NFTs, decentralized finance (DeFi), and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). In September 2022, the network completed "The Merge," transitioning from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake and reducing its energy consumption by roughly 99 percent. Buterin has remained involved in Ethereum's long-term research direction through the Ethereum Foundation.

 
Vitalik Buterin's Milady Maker profile picture on X.com

Relation to Remilia

Ethereum is the blockchain on which Milady Maker, Redacted Remilio Babies, and Remilia Corporation's other NFT collections are deployed. Buterin's engagement with the Milady community has been more than incidental.

In January 2025, following a post about structural changes to the Ethereum Foundation, Charlotte Fang replied urging Buterin to "embrace Milady." Buterin responded with the word "milady" and, shortly afterward, purchased Milady #9286 for 5.82 ETH, setting it as his X profile picture.[4] The floor price of the collection rose from approximately 3.41 ETH to a high of 5.20 ETH within hours of the purchase becoming public.[5] In a post denouncing harassment directed at Ethereum Foundation employees, Buterin signed off by posting the word "milady" repeatedly.[6]

On 1 January 2026, Buterin updated his profile picture to a Milady NFT again to mark the new year, writing "Welcome to 2026! Milady is back" in a post reflecting on Ethereum's technical progress over the preceding year. The Milady floor price surged by roughly 50 percent following the update.[7]

In March 2026, the Ethereum Foundation published its official mandate document — a 38-page statement described as "part constitution, part manifesto" for the Foundation. The document's illustrations were contributed by Tomo Saito and Shiro, a Remilia community artist.[8] Shiro confirmed the collaboration on X, describing it as an honor.[9] The mandate's visual treatment — featuring anime-style illustration and references to the Source Seppuku License, a satirical software license hosted on the Remilia wiki — drew wide attention in the Ethereum community and became a point of controversy following subsequent departures by several Ethereum Foundation contributors.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "History of Ethereum: founder, launch and ownership". Ethereum.org. Retrieved June 2026.
  2. ↑ February 24, 2022. "Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin biography and net worth". Fortune. Retrieved June 2026.
  3. ↑ "History of Ethereum: founder, launch and ownership". Ethereum.org. Retrieved June 2026.
  4. ↑ January 2025. "Vitalik Buterin Changes X Profile Picture To Milady Maker NFT". MagNFT. Retrieved June 2026.
  5. ↑ January 2025. "Vitalik Buterin Changes X Profile Picture To Milady Maker NFT". MagNFT. Retrieved June 2026.
  6. ↑ January 21, 2025. "'Wartime' Vitalik, DeFi Moves, and Milady Vibes — What's Up With the Ethereum Foundation?". Bitget News. Retrieved June 2026.
  7. ↑ January 2, 2026. "Vitalik Buterin's Milady Profile Photo Sparks 30% Jump in NFT Floor Price". CryptoNews. Retrieved June 2026.
  8. ↑ March 13, 2026. "The Promise of Ethereum: Introducing the EF Mandate". Ethereum Foundation Blog. Retrieved June 2026.
  9. ↑ @shiro57102 (March 13, 2026). "It was a honor for me to contribute to the EF Mandate. I can't express how much this means to me <3 The light is so bright I can barely see Mandate of Heaven is real ♡ 1000 4 ever". X.
  10. ↑ May 20, 2026. "Bizarre Ethereum Foundation anime letter blamed for mass resignations". Protos. Retrieved June 2026.
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