Vitalik Buterin Named “Prince Of Crypto” By TIME Magazine

TIME Magazine will release its first fully NFT issue with Vitalik Buterin, inventor of Ethereum. The 28-year-old programmer will appear on the cover. The issue is titled “The Prince of Crypto Has Concerns”, after a story run by Andrew Chow, part of the magazine’s editorial team.

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The issue will be launched in collaboration with the LITDAO, according to an official post. This NFT project was launched in December 2021. Operating with its own native currency LIT, there is some mystery surrounding this project.

No roadmap has been revealed, no use case. The LIT project was created to under-promise and over-deliver, as stated by the project’s FAQ section. Via their Twitter handle, the team behind the project celebrated their partnership with TIME magazine.

LITDAO reported that LIT Genesis holders will be eligible to receive an airdropped of “this historic NFT” alongside TIMEPiece Genesis holder. The latter is a web3 community initiative created by TIME Magazine, and launched in September 2021, with a collection called “Build a Better Future”.

The airdrop will rollout with support from Circle, the company behind stablecoin USD Coin (USDC). The company is the presenting partner for this NFT issue, with Transient Labs acting as the project’s technical partner. Per the official post:

TIME will airdrop the NFT issue to select TIMEPiece and genesis LIT community wallet holders, which was made possible with the support of Circle.

According to TIME, this issue with Vitalik Buterin will “live on the blockchain”, on a decentralized protocol. Holders of the NFT Magazine will be able to read the content and interact with it.

Recently, LITDAO launched its second project, an interacting NFT with Academy Award winning actor Robert De Niro. The NFT, comprised of several pictures with De Niro’s expression, changed depending on the price of Ethereum.

Another first for @LITWTF !!!! How many more firsts do you need to join our Degen Cultural Revolution?! https://t.co/iqfwyyVjkc

— Tonybearbrick (@tonybearbrick) March 18, 2022

Vitalik Buterin And The web3 Revolution

Before that, LITDAO’s first project transferred “the rights of a book to a reader and NFT owner”, removing third parties from the transaction and giving the consumer and the creator more power over the creation. The collaboration with TIME, for their NFT Vitalik Buterin issue, seems like a logical step.

Keith Grossman, President at TIME, said the following in this announcement:

As TIME continues to push the boundaries as to what is possible within the web3 ecosystem, producing the first-ever full magazine on the blockchain seemed like a natural extension for our brand and we knew this issue, in particular, would be cherished by our community.

Data shared by TIME claims their NFT and web3 initiative is paying off. 2021 was a “blockbuster year” for TIME web3 businesses which have generated over $10 million in revenue, a community of over 25,000 artists, and creators, and around 5,000 TIMEPiece holders.

For the magazine, similar websites, and content creators, web3 and NFTs could represent a fresh start and a new source of income to remain profitable in the digital era. At the heart, it’s blockchain technology and blockchain such as Ethereum.

Its inventor, as Andrew Chow shared, called him “one of the most fascinating and arguably important people on earth”. Despite the title of the cover story which names this issue, “The Prince of Crypto Has Concerns”, Buterin himself rejects the idea of a single individual ruling over a network’s future.

In that sense, he expressed concern about the dominance of decentralized finances (DeFi) and NFTs and the “shameless displays of wealth” driven by collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club. The inventor of Ethereum also worries about the rise in transaction fees, and “overeager investors”.

Buterin believes Ethereum will host a larger revolution beyond “monkeys”, and into the most important aspect of people’s lives. Chow wrote:

Buterin hopes Ethereum will become the launchpad for all sorts of sociopolitical experimentation: fairer voting systems, urban planning, universal basic income, public-works projects. Above all, he wants the platform to be a counterweight to authoritarian governments and to upend Silicon Valley’s stranglehold over our digital lives.

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As of press time, Ethereum (ETH) trades at $2,837 with bullish momentum on the 4-hour chart.