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Internet is obsessed over apparent hole in millionaire founder’s sock: ‘Small matters don’t interest him’
Fans say entrepreneur Vitalik Buterin is too busy changing the world to care about his wardrobe after a picture of him wearing a sock with a hole went viral.
In the age of high-definition cameras and eagle-eyed netizens, no detail is too small to escape the public's gaze. What started as a standard photo of a millionaire founder has become an internet obsession because it shows an apparent hole in his sock. This story perfectly illustrates how social media can bypass a person's billion-dollar achievements to focus on a single wardrobe mishap.
Vitalik Buterin, a crypto millionaire, was photographed with an apparent hole in his sock at the ETH Chiangmai conference, which is taking place in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. The event, which started on January 28, will conclude on February 3.
Social media reacts:
The viral photograph promoted a series of remarks, with some taking the route of hilarity. An individual wrote, “Small matters don’t interest him.” Another added, “Not everyone is changed by money.”
A third expressed, “It's an advanced ventilation system for the machine.” A fourth commented, “Man is allocating 100% of his attention to changing the world; socks are not on the roadmap.”
Who is Vitalik Buterin?
He founded Ethereum in 2013, and it was later joined by several co-founders, including Gavin Wood, Joseph Lubin, Jeffrey Wilcke, Mihai Alisie, Anthony Di Lorio, Amir Chetrit, and Charles Hoskinson. It is a blockchain platform for decentralised financial applications. According to the company’s website, it has no “CEO or central authority” and is “not controlled by any single entity or organisation.”
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In 2021, Vitalik Buterin became the world's youngest crypto billionaire and was featured on Forbes. However, according to recent reports, his net worth in 2025 was estimated at $760 million.
Buterin was born in Russia in 1994 but was later raised in Canada. Prior to Ethereum, Buterin wrote for Bitcoin Magazine, which he launched in 2012.
