Vitalik Buterin is a Russian-Canadian writer and programmer, most commonly known for co-founding Ethereum. As 2018 draws to a close, Vitalik has begun handing out praise on Twitter to companies, people, and technology he thinks deserve it.
I'd like to follow @cryptochamomile's tradition and end the year with praise for groups I either consider outgroups or otherwise don't normally praise, both inside and outside the crypto space…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 31, 2018
“Freedom tech”
Whilst Vitalik’s list of praise isn’t exclusive to the world of crypto, he certainly mentions many positives from the cryptosphere. One positive he discusses is the Bitcoin community caring about non-cryptocurrency “freedom tech.” This point comes in response to a Robert Spigler (a Bitcoin maximalist) tweet about the Bitcoin Core Project looking into new alternative computer architectures. This is a result of popular companies like Intel and AMD using closed platforms and systems, something the world of crypto disagrees with. Many, including Vitalik, believe in open hardware/firmware.
1. Many in the Bitcoin community legitimately care about non-cryptocurrency "freedom tech" that I think is very important and valuable and that much of the crypto space has a tendency to forget about, eg. open hardware: https://t.co/C3r0ceSJ43
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 31, 2018
The Lightning Network
The fourth slot on Vitalik’s list of praise goes to the Lightning Network, which has achieved remarkable growth without funding from an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). The Lightning Network has been dubbed as a potent solution to cryptocurrency scaling issues. In short, it creates a layer on top of Bitcoin that enables faster and cheaper transactions on the Bitcoin network. Coin Rivet also recently reported on the Lightning Network’s rapid growth.
4. They've also done an impressive job getting the lightning network to where it is today without relying on ICO funding.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 31, 2018
The stability of fiat currency
Vitalik has even given out praise to the management of fiat currency, stating that “monetary policy is complicated.” The volatility of crypto markets showcase how difficult it is to keep currencies stable and sustainable.
5. National fiat currencies have for the last few decades done a reasonably good job of being stable, and deserve credit for this. Monetary policy is complicated!
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 31, 2018
Centralised applications and ‘ease of use’
Vitalik also praised centralised applications for their ease of use (including Twitter). This is particularly worth noting as whilst the prospect of decentralised applications is attractive, not all of them have easy-to-use interfaces, which is becoming a common critique. People often avoid applications that are not user friendly, and this is something developers should be focusing on.
8. The many centralized apps I use (including Twitter itself!) do a great job of being convenient and easy to use.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 31, 2018
Giving love back to the community
The cryptocurrency and blockchain community is very, very active. Many members of the community engage heavily with these topics to help demystify the space and spark healthy discussions to help improve it. Vitalik has given praise to two individuals in particular, David Gerard and Jorge Stolfi, alongside the Reddit sub-thread /r/Buttcoin. In Vitalik’s own words, they provide a “much-needed service in shedding light on the crypto space’s worst excesses, and good communities should welcome their scrutiny.”
10. @davidgerard, @JorgeStolfi and friends at /r/buttcoin provide a much-needed service in shedding light on the crypto space's worst excesses, and good crypto communities should welcome their scrutiny.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 31, 2018
Proof-of-work is nice and simple to explain
Proof-of-work is the original consensus algorithm used in blockchain networks. Its concept is fairly simple – the algorithm is used to confirm new transactions and add new blocks of data to the blockchain. Its aim is to provide peer-to-peer, trustless consensus between all parties that is easily verified by others. There is a lot more technical details involved in proof-of-work (PoW), but as Vitalik notes, its core concept is easily explainable.
12. Proof of work does a really good job of being simple and explainable to high school students.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 31, 2018
Vitalik Buterin’s list is longer than the points detailed here, so feel free to check out his Twitter and read the entire thread.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.