Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin is now the world's youngest crypto billionaire amid ether's 350% year-to-date surge

• Vitalik Buterin is now the world's youngest crypto billionaire.
• Buterin holds 333,521 ETH worth some $1,125,299,854 as of Wednesday's coin price.
• Ethereum is up more than 350% year-to-date in a historic run for the second most popular cryptocurrency on the planet.

The 27-year-old co-creator of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, is now the world's youngest crypto billionaire after a 350% year-to-date surge in the price of his cryptocurrency.

Buterin's Ether address, which he disclosed on Twitter in 2018, currently holds 333,521 ETH, worth some $1,125,299,854 as of 8:19 a.m. ET on Wednesday when Ether's price was $3374.90.

Ethereum's market cap is nearing $400 billion after a historic run for the second most popular cryptocurrency, which saw it reach heights of over $3,500 per coin before paring gains.

Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, told Forbes there were several factors driving Ether's meteoric run.

First, the rise of DeFi or, decentralized finance, is pushing more users into assets not held or distributed by central banks generally.

Second, user demand for ether to buy digital assets like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) could be driving prices higher.

"All of these use cases are moving right now, and people need the other coins to do this type of new transaction," Zhao said. "Ethereum is one of those clear examples. That's probably why Ether is going up."

Ark Invest analysts also laid out three reasons why ether is set to continue its bull run in a note to clients on Monday.

The analysts said a rise in institutional investment, strong "on-chain signals" of increasing ETH use, and "imminent protocol upgrades" are set to buoy the coin moving forward.

EX-Ark Invest analyst James Wang even laid out a case for ether to hit $40,000 per coin in a recent interview.

If the cryptocurrency does rise to those previously unimaginable heights, ether's co-founder Vitalik Buterin would be worth an incredible $13,340,840,000.

Read more: Ex-Ark analyst James Wang breaks down his bull case for Ethereum as its token breaches an all-time high of $3,300 - and explains why it could eventually reach $40,000

Buterin was born in Kolomna, Russia, in 1994 and later moved to Canada with his family, growing up in Toronto. He then briefly attended the University of Waterloo before dropping out after being awarded $100,000 from the Thiel Fellowship.

The Russian-Canadian Buterin then put all his efforts into Ethereum before revealing the cryptocurrency in a whitepaper in 2013.

The Ethereum initial coin offering (ICO) was the second public coin offering ever when it took place in 2014.

If you had bought 100 ETH at the time, it would have cost around $30. That 100 ETH would be worth $337,490 today.

Lately, Buterin has taken to sharing in the success of his cryptocurrency. The ETH founder recently donated roughly $600,000 in ether and maker tokens to a COVID-19 relief fund for India.

Buterin adds his name to a growing list of crypto billionaires including the Winklevoss twins and Sam Bankman-Fried.