Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin needs no introduction. He was part of the founding team behind the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency network in 2015; envisioning a world free of borders, decentralized governance, and autonomous companies (among other features).
Despite not being as active as he once was with Ethereum, Buterin remains a thought leader in the space for his ideas and work on a decentralized future.
A recent paper Buterin co-authored with a Harvard professor is evidence of the above; tying in blockchain with a popular law of our times.
Discussing a decentralized future
On a video call with Thibault Schrepel, a Harvard law professor, yesterday—the duo presented their paper on “Blockchain Code as Antitrust,” exploring features of the idealogy and arguing how blockchain technology can complement antitrust laws.
The paper was first out in May this year. But due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Buterin and Schrepel did not formally present their thesis.
They made it yesterday on a YouTube video, however. The paper explores a theory of decentralization in the real world, the role of smart contracts, and trifling monopolies with distributed governance.
The paper contends nation-states must utilize public, permissionless blockchains to complement antitrust law. The latter protects consumers from corporate-centric predatory practices while ensuring power is evenly distributed among influential businesses.
“Both antitrust and blockchain seek decentralization,” explains Schrepel in the video. He adds the two mechanisms are complementary; making a free market possible in the real-world.
“Antitrust law does this by preventing companies from holding too much economic power, blockchains do it by reducing intermediaries and enabling peer-to-peer transactions,” he adds.
Push for blockchain sandbox
Buterin provided inputs on the many misconceptions that mainstream media perpetuates about blockchain. Specifically, he noted that blockchain systems do not mean every element of those need to be decentralized.
The 26-year-old said centralization can occur and it’s oft-valuable to have some centralized actors; such as wallet providers to certain layer-2 infrastructure firms:
“At the same time, there is this pressure to really try hard to reduce the extent to which this happens (…) at the protocol layer, we really try hard to push for more decentralization at the application layer and so forth.”
Buterin and Schrepel said they encourage governments to provide regulated sandboxes and legal spaces so that blockchain technology, and its development, becomes more decentralized and can assist in reaching the objectives of antitrust laws.
Meanwhile, China is already pursuing a blockchain-based government. Reports yesterday noted the country announced the development of a decentralized system for e-governance, imports, business, and even private firms in Beijing. This is in line with its broader push for blockchain technology under the Five-Year-Plan.
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Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain platform that establishes a peer-to-peer network that securely executes and verifies application code, called smart contracts. Smart contracts allow participants to transact with each other without a trusted central authority.
The Ethereum platform was developed by a community of users and developers. These people collectively drive the development of the platform. Ethereum is not controlled by any one person, entity, or group. Ethereum exists solely through the work and effort of its community, who collectively operate the Ethereum network.
Buterin laid the foundations of Ethereum in 2013 when he was just 19, writing a white paper that outlined “a next-generation smart contract and decentralized application platform.”
Following Bitcoin's decentralized concept, Ethereum has become a leader in smart contract platforms. Since its inception in 2015, the platform has launched more than 4,400 dApps. The most apparent advantages of Ethereum's smart contract platform are standardization, security, and support.
Ethereum enables developers to build and deploy smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) without downtime, fraud, control, or interference from a third party. To accomplish this, Ethereum comes complete with its own programming language that runs on a blockchain.
While Ethereum can hit $100,000 after 2030, it is not realistic to expect ETH to reach 100k before 2030. It's nearly impossible. There is no path for Ethereum to hit 100k before 2030, it's impossible. ETH can realistically hit $10,000 in the coming years, either in 2025 or in 2026.
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has publicly disclosed that he is on the autism spectrum. While autism has been traditionally viewed as a hindrance in many aspects of life, it can also bring unique talents and strengths.
In July, Musk, who has said he personally owns the cryptocurrencies bitcoin, ethereum and dogecoin, quietly added the dogecoin Ð symbol to his X account amid a flurry of interactions with dogecoin fan accounts—with bitcoin and crypto market watchers predicting Musk's plans for X could be an "absolute game-changer."
Kim points out, “No single party controls the development of the Ethereum protocol, which is a collective effort by various stakeholders in the Ethereum ecosystem.”
After graduation, Buterin enrolled into the University of Waterloo which he eventually dropped out after a year of computer science and landed the Thiel Fellowship. He used his time to co-found and work on several startups in cryptocurrency and digital finance. He's also well-known for having an IQ level of 257.
To secure their digital assets, Mr. Buterin emphasizes the importance of multi-sig crypto wallets. He reveals that he uses this method for over 90% of his assets.
It was a platform that allowed developers to create a diverse array of applications and programs using the power of cryptocurrencies, particularly its native currency, ETH. Smart contracts, which are essentially programs that can be saved and operated on the Ethereum platform, are how the platform accomplishes this.
Supply Limit: Bitcoin has a capped supply of 21 million coins, emphasizing scarcity to preserve value. Ethereum, on the other hand, does not have a fixed supply limit, which is intended to facilitate its broader use in executing smart contracts and running DApps.
Bitcoin is sometimes referred to as digital gold, serving as a store of value, while Ethereum is a platform for decentralized applications and smart contracts. The two digital assets also differ in their consensus mechanisms, with Bitcoin using Proof of Work and Ethereum beginning its transition to Proof of Stake.
As currently one of the leading cryptocurrencies with robust blockchain technology and wide adoption, many investors believe in its potential for significant long-term growth.
Ethereum allows anyone to deploy permanent and immutable decentralized applications onto it, with which users can interact. Decentralized finance (DeFi) applications provide financial instruments that do not directly rely on financial intermediaries like brokerages, exchanges, or banks.
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Why Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin is pushing for blockchain in antitrust laws Shaurya Malwa · 4 years ago · 2 min read 
Vitalik Buterin
