As if September wasn’t already exciting enough, we have something else to add to the list. Vitalik Buterin, one of TIME Magazine’s most influential people of 2021, has announced that he will release a new book. The title is “Proof of Stake, The Making of Ethereum and the Philosophy of Blockchains.” Very fitting with the ETH transition to PoS happening. Let’s merge to find out what the book is about and how you can get your hands on it.
The Author
Vitalik Buterin was born in Kolomna, Russia, on January 31st, 1994. At six years old, he emigrated to Canada, where his family hoped to find better employment and job opportunities. Buterin has been involved with crypto early on since 2011. During that year, he started to write for Bitcoin Weekly, earning 5 Bitcoin per article. At the time, 5 BTC didn’t even equal $5. After the site dissolved, Buterin co-founded Bitcoin Magazine. A few years later, in 2014, he drew up the whitepaper for Ethereum becoming a co-founder.
The Editor
Nathan Schneider has edited many works in the past and was the editor for “Proof of Stake.” Schneider also happens to be an author and an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. You can often find him writing about economics, technology, and religion. He is also the founder of the Media Enterprise Design Lab at CU Boulder, where they experiment with democratic ownership and governance in the online economy.
Read All About It
The book is authored by, of course, the man himself, Vitalik Buterin. Essentially it compiles much of Buterin’s writings as he was building Ethereum. Part of the book covers free speech, navigating new standards, and how to protect it. It also touches on the idea that blockchains will be important governing bodies for municipalities in the future and how some of that is in motion already.
It includes essays Buterin wrote before ETH was a household name and during the time ETH started to see measurable success. It’s a chance to get inside the mind of one of the world’s greatest innovators in Crypto/Web3 and experience this creative journey. The appendix of the book also includes the Ethereum whitepaper.
The book’s site, accessed through Gitcoin, describes Buterin as a “vivid and imaginative writer, with context from media studies scholar Nathan Schneider.” It continues, “While many around him were focused on seeing the value of their tokens rise, he was working through the problems and possibilities of crafting an Internet-native world.”
“Proof of Stake, The Making of Ethereum and the Philosophy of Blockchains”
The book comes out with great timing as the ETH merge soon approaches. Of course, you can get your hands on a physical copy, but it wouldn’t be crypto if there weren’t an option to buy one as an NFT. You can get a signed digital copy and tout that non-fungible token. They are on sale now, ahead of the September 27th release date. Upon release, you can purchase a paperback copy of the book for around $17 from most major retailers.
By visiting the link through gitcoin.co, you can get started. Donate any amount of ETH and receive an NFT and digitally signed copy from Vitalik. If you make a donation pledge through this channel, 90% of the funds will get matched by the Gitcoin Grants matching pool. The other 10% will go to their publishing partner Seven Stories Press. By purchasing, you are helping to support Public Goods as a whole and, in this case, with independent publishing.
A Piece of History
How many copies of a book such as this will sell? Buterin is probably not too concerned about sales numbers; however, it is excellent that proceeds are going to a good cause. The actual proof is in the pudding already with the protocol itself. Ethereum is adapting and evolving, showing it can stand the test of time.
The ETH merge signifies another significant milestone in a space where the months can feel like years. Will this book be a coveted part of history? Will a signed copy be valuable and sought after in the future as a collectible? Regardless, it is something I aim to have on my shelf or, better yet, in my wallet.
