On Jan. 1, Vitalik Buterin announced a New Year’s resolution for the blockchain he devised way back in 2013. It’s time, he declared, for Ethereum to step up and deliver on its original mission: “To build the world computer that serves as a central infrastructure piece of a more free and open internet.”
Buterin’s message is a timely one. For more than a decade now, Ethereum has offered the tantalizing promise of a global computer, available to anyone, that can be used to create decentralized alternatives to Big Tech’s data-gobbling monopolies. The blockchain popularized smart contracts, and has been a springboard for thousands of projects backed by billions of dollars. It has also spawned legions of mostly fly-by-night imitators.
