Ethereum 2.0, Polkadot, Cardano, ConsenSys... What other projects have the founders of Ethereum established?

This article is published by Hu Feitong Studio.

On the road of Web3.0 evolution, we have recently seen two interesting directions. On one hand, blockchain storage represented by Filecoin has started and rapidly developed; on the other hand, the Ethereum ecosystem is flourishing in enhancing blockchain computing capabilities. Today, let's take a brief look at the rich world created by the founders of Ethereum.

In the early stages of an industry's development, a successful company may become the training ground for future talents in that industry. For instance, the semiconductor industry has companies like Fairchild Semiconductor, which supplied pioneering talents to almost all subsequent semiconductor companies. Closer to home, the Webex company, acquired by Cisco, opened a new world for the video conferencing industry. There are also the famous founders of PayPal, represented by Elon Musk, who, after the company was acquired, made significant strides in their respective new ventures.

In the blockchain industry, many Ethereum founders are now flourishing, building a new ecosystem in the Web3.0 computing field, and their projects are worth paying attention to.

Here are some projects founded by these Ethereum founders that are particularly noteworthy:

• Ethereum 2.0: Vitalik Buterin's main focus is on this;

• Polkadot: Gavin Wood shifted from Parity to Polkadot;

• Cardano: Charles Hoskinson supported ETC after the Ethereum fork and later created Cardano, hoping to become a true Ethereum killer;

• Consensys: A blockchain incubation and application support entity founded by Joseph Lubin, gaining increasing influence.

Who are the founders of Ethereum?

The founder of Ethereum commonly referred to today is Vitalik Buterin. Yes, he is a young elder and the only founder still active in the Ethereum community. Currently, Vitalik's main focus is on Ethereum 2.0. Although Ethereum 1.0 to 2.0 can be seen as a natural evolution, in terms of implementation, it can be regarded as a new project.

The list of Ethereum founders is quite long, as described by one of its founders, Anthony Di Iorio. In December 2013, there were five founders of Ethereum: Vitalik Buterin, Anthony Di Iorio, Charles Hoskinson, Mihai Alisie, and Amir Chetrit. Later, in 2014, three more joined as co-founders: Joseph Lubin, Gavin Wood, and Jeffrey Wilcke.

Interestingly, all these founders, except for Vitalik, have left Ethereum to start their own new ventures. Let's discuss each of them and their projects.

Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum 2.0

This needs no further explanation. A Russian-Canadian computer science geek, he proposed the idea of Ethereum at the age of 19 in 2013, a true prodigy.

He not only created Ethereum but also set a development roadmap for Ethereum spanning 5 to 10 years, which has been largely followed. Currently, Vitalik is dedicated to the development of Ethereum 2.0.

Since Ethereum 1.0 and 2.0 use the same token, despite being two chains and two different projects, the development evolution is clear and has garnered hope from countless people.

Gavin Wood: Polkadot

Gavin Wood is the leader in the technical implementation of Ethereum. He proposed and implemented Ethereum in C++, wrote the Ethereum yellow paper, and introduced the smart contract programming language: Solidity.

Gavin Wood was not one of the original five founders, but he was included in the list of co-founders at his request before Ethereum was unveiled. Ambitious, during the development of Ethereum, he co-founded Parity with his partner Jutta Steiner as one of Ethereum's implementations.

During the development process, he believed that Parity should have the capability to grow into a completely new chain, one that could replace Ethereum, which is Polkadot, currently a strong competitor to Ethereum.

Charles Hoskinson: Cardano

Charles Hoskinson aspired to be a mathematician, but the allure of Bitcoin led him to fully immerse himself in the blockchain industry, becoming one of the original five founders of Ethereum. In the early stages of Ethereum's development, he laid a solid foundation for its growth as CEO, particularly in establishing the foundation and developing the legal framework.

The DAO incident in 2016 led to the Ethereum fork, and Charles turned to support Ethereum Classic (ETC). He then founded Cardano (ADA), which is also a strong competitor to Ethereum. Cardano's development approach differs from Ethereum in that it prioritizes research before practice, developing more conservatively, but may be more easily accepted by traditional industries. Currently, there are many participants in the Cardano community, and its value will gradually become apparent, making it worth watching.

Joseph Lubin: Consensys

Joseph Lubin is the most experienced among the eight founders of Ethereum, having worked in diverse fields including software engineering, music production, business, and finance. He is financially well-off and provided significant support for Ethereum's early development. Naturally, as a founder, he has also reaped substantial rewards from Ethereum's growth.

Joseph left the Ethereum community to create Consensys. The reason may be related to the Ethereum Foundation becoming a non-profit organization. Joseph hopes for his commercial success; therefore, Consensys no longer focuses solely on Ethereum open-source development but instead focuses more on building applications and incubating blockchain startups, which can be related to Ethereum or based on other platforms like Filecoin or Polkadot.

Other Founders

Jeffrey Wilcke

Another important programmer in the early development of Ethereum, when Gavin Wood implemented Ethereum in C++, Jeffrey implemented it in Golang as well. This pioneered multiple implementations of blockchain.

Disheartened by the hard fork incident and with the birth of his son, he withdrew from the project. Currently, he is engaged in completely unrelated game development work. Talented individuals often have good fortune; we hope he shines wherever he goes.

Amir Chetrit

A computer science professional, a significant part of his career was in real estate development, but he also ventured into Bitcoin. Thus, he became acquainted with Vitalik. He likely contributed to Ethereum's early development. However, being primarily involved in real estate and investment, he lacked sufficient passion for the technology and vision of Ethereum, leading him to resign after being criticized at the co-founders' meeting in June 2014.

However, it is said that Amir has quietly supported many blockchain projects. Whether out of passion or the hope of making money, as an investor in blockchain, Amir should be remembered.

Anthony Di Iorio

Like Vitalik, Anthony Di Iorio also hails from Toronto. He shares a common trait with another founder, Joseph, in that he is wealthy, primarily due to having a rich father. His involvement in Ethereum has made him even wealthier. Currently, he may still be one of the top figures in the cryptocurrency field.

His retreat from the forefront is similar to Joseph's; he was not fond of Ethereum operating as a non-profit, so he decided to take his coins and do something else.

After Ethereum, Di Iorio briefly served as the Chief Digital Officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange but then left to create Decentral, developing the Jaxx digital wallet.

Mihai Alisie: Akasha

Mihai Alisie had known Vitalik for several years before. They met in 2011 and co-founded Bitcoin Magazine. Naturally, when founding Ethereum, they came together.

As Mihai said, "In the early days, it was a group of people with great ideas and ambitions, not yet clear if they would succeed."

He served as the vice-chairman of the Ethereum Foundation until the end of 2015, when he turned his attention to the social framework of Ethereum, Akasha. Akasha uses Ethereum and IPFS to build applications, and Mihai's social framework is taking shape, hoping to gain further development with Ethereum 2.0 and Filecoin.

Although early founders have embarked on new ventures, the Ethereum ecosystem has already formed, and the developer community continues to grow. This is what sets it apart from traditional industries; this is the charm of blockchain; this is the secret of the vigorous development of decentralization showcasing its vitality.