One of the eight founders of popular blockchain platform Ethereum has quit the cryptocurrency industry. Anthony Di Iorio, who helped build the popular blockchain platform in 2018, has announced his departure from the crypto ecosystem, adding that he wants to solve “large problems". He told Coindesk that he doesn’t want to be known “as a crypto person" and instead wants to be known as a “problem solver".
Notably, Di Iorio also told Bloomberg that crypto accounts for only a “small percentage" of the complex problems the world faces today. He also said that about 20% of his decision was due to personal security concerns because of his position in the ecosystem. Iorio had been travelling with a security team since 2017.
Iorio’s departure comes at a crucial time for the industry. On the one hand, the crypto community has faced pushbacks due to environmental and regulatory concerns, and on the other, the industry has also seen welcome announcements from countries like El Salvador and Paraguay.
Ethereum 2.0, a new version of the blockchain platform that’s expected this year, is expected to solve a lot of the environmental concerns cited by experts. The platform puts limits on the number of miners who get rewarded for authenticating crypto transactions, thereby bringing down the overall power requirements of the sector.
Vitalik Buterin, largely credited as the founder of the network, has said that it will bring down energy consumption by as much as 99%. The platform is also seen as the right solution for building future crypto-based products, as it is much more versatile too. Iorio’s comment that crypto isn’t needed for a lot of the world’s problems could be a setback for the industry at large, which has been promoting itself as the cornerstone for some of the biggest technological advancements in future.