It’s time to delve back into crypto’s history and start looking at the project that is second only to Bitcoin in terms of scale and recognition. 

Ethereum may not have been the first altcoin to emerge in Bitcoin’s wake, but its influence on the crypto industry has been seismic. Since it first appeared on the scene back in 2015, Ethereum has been the driving force behind much of crypto’s evolution, triggering a wave of innovation and growth.

In this episode, we take a look at Ethereum’s early days and how it began to grow from an idea in the mind of a teenage genius into a project that would change crypto forever. We delve into the early life of Vitalik Buterin and meet some of the other characters who gravitated toward him and his idea. 

We’ll also get a glimpse of the project’s early development, when Vitalik and the other co-founders gathered together for months on end at a house in Switzerland. We’ll talk about some of the interpersonal dramas and personality clashes that took place as a bunch of very smart people tried to bring the idea of Ethereum to life. 

Many of the people we meet in this episode have gone on to become some of the most famous figures in cryptocurrency. Some of them are now involved with projects that are in direct competition with Ethereum: make of that what you will…

The two books on Ethereum we talk about are both excellent reads and essential for anyone interested in learning more about the project and cryptocurrency in general. They are:

The Infinite Machine (2020) by Camila Russo 

The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze (2022) by Laura Shin

We hope you enjoy the show.

Producer for iHeart Media: Noel Brown

Editor: Sam Moult