Ethereum co-founder and university dropout Vitalik Buterin was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Basel in Switzerland.
One adage that is relentlessly pounded into the skulls of young people is to get a college education. However, there are times when choosing to forgo higher education in pursuit of another goal can reap tremendous dividends. Such is the case for Vitalik Buterin, a college dropout who co-founded Ethereum. On November 30th, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the oldest university in Switzerland.
That’s Doctor Vitalik Buterin
Buterin was awarded the honorary doctorate from the University of Basel’s Faculty of Business and Economics. The seat of higher learning is the oldest university in Switzerland, dating back to 1460.
Every year, the university honors worthy people in their Dies Academicus ceremony. This year marks the 558th occurrence of the ceremony.
In a statement, the University of Basel declared:
The Faculty of Business and Economics awarded its honorary doctorate to the 24-year-old Russian-Canadian software developer and author Vitalik Buterin. He received the honor in recognition of his contribution to promoting decentralization and equal rights of participation in the digital revolution, as well as for his achievements in relation to cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, and institutional design.
The co-founder and inventor of “Ethereum” – a decentralized platform based on blockchain technology – authored his scientific publications without an academic degree or ties to a university.
Other Notables Honored
Vitalik Buterin was not the sole individual honored in this year’s Dies Academicus. Honorary doctorates were also given out to Thomas R. Insel (neuroscientist), Hans-Martin Barth (theologian), Verena Grether (hospice founder), Thomas Stadelmann (federal judge), Robert Riener (medical engineer), and Armin Coray (illustrator). In addition, the economist Beatrice Weder di Mauro was awarded the Alumni Prize.
It’s been a pretty busy last few months for Vitalik Buterin. He recently attended Devcon, the annual Ethereum developer conference, where he gave his thoughts on corporate-owned blockchain. He also recently declared that the wild, explosive growth of cryptocurrency had reached its end. To cap it all off, Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, defended Buterin from detractors on Twitter.
Do you think Buterin deserves an honorary doctorate from such a distinguished university? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the University of Basel.