--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I came up with Ethereum, my first…" description: "\"When I came up with Ethereum, my first first thought was, 'Okay, this thing is too good to be true.' As it turned out, the core Ethereum idea was good ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/vitalik-buterin-20983_be-true_when-i-came-up-with-ethereum-my-first-fi_439200.jpg" --- # When I came up with Ethereum, my first first thought was… ![“When I came up with Ethereum, my first first thought was, 'Okay, this thing is too good to be true.' As it turned out, the core Ethereum idea was good - fundamentally, completely sound.” quote by Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/vitalik-buterin-20983_be-true_when-i-came-up-with-ethereum-my-first-fi_439200.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/vitalik-buterin-20983_be-true_when-i-came-up-with-ethereum-my-first-fi_439200.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/vitalik-buterin-20983_be-true_when-i-came-up-with-ethereum-my-first-fi_439200.jpg) > “When I came up with Ethereum, my first first thought was, 'Okay, this thing is too good to be true.' As it turned out, the core Ethereum idea was good - fundamentally, completely sound.” [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes initial skepticism about Ethereum's promise, then affirms its solid foundation. **In simple terms:** He was skeptical at first but now sees Ethereum as fundamentally sound. Key Takeaway Recognize and validate strong ideas despite early doubts. Themes innovation skepticism technology Mood analytical optimistic Type technological inspirational When to use this quote - startup pitch - product development - investment evaluation Key Concepts cryptocurrency blockchain fundamentals Questions to Reflect On - What core principles make Ethereum robust? - How do you address early skepticism? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can overlook practical limitations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Be true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-true/) [Came Ethereum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/came-ethereum-3854847/) [Core Ethereum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/core-ethereum-3854846/) [Ethereum Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethereum-idea-3854845/) [Ethereum Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethereum-thought-3854844/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good Fundamentally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-fundamentally-3854848/) [Okay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/okay/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Too good to be true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-good-to-be-true/) [True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true/) ## Related quotes > [I think no matter what, science can provide a force for good, fundamentally. 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As it turns out, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/initially-i-thought-that-ethereum-was-a-thing-that-would-be-used-for/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [The industrial revolution allowed us, for the first time, to start replacing human labour with machines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/the-industrial-revolution-allowed-us-for-the-first-time-to-start/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [The thing that I often ask startups on top of Ethereum is, 'Can you please tell me why using the Ethereum blockchain is better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/the-thing-that-i-often-ask-startups-on-top-of-ethereum-is-can-you/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [Scalability is this idea of coming up with a blockchain that can scale much larger than existing chains essentially by processing transactions in parallel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/scalability-is-this-idea-of-coming-up-with-a-blockchain-that-can/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [In order to have a decentralised database, you need to have security. In order to have security, you need to - you need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/in-order-to-have-a-decentralised-database-you-need-to-have-security/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [You could imagine something like a completely automated system for renting bikes that's just done completely over blockchain crypto-payments. And theoretically just sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/you-could-imagine-something-like-a-completely-automated-system-for/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [I think people don't realise that running a piece of code that verifies some conditions for a financial transaction, that by itself is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/i-think-people-don-t-realise-that-running-a-piece-of-code-that/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [Many people at different levels of the Russian government are open to crypto-currencies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/many-people-at-different-levels-of-the-russian-government-are-open-to/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [Blockchain software companies may end up being amalgamated into existing software giants, at which point blockchain patents will just become part of the existing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/blockchain-software-companies-may-end-up-being-amalgamated-into/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [You can write anything that you would be able to write on a server and put it onto the blockchain. Instead of Javascript making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/you-can-write-anything-that-you-would-be-able-to-write-on-a-server/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [I generally support just about every secession attempt that comes along. If, in the future, there is that kind of a dispute in Ethereum,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/i-generally-support-just-about-every-secession-attempt-that-comes/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [Whereas most technologies tend to automate workers on the periphery doing menial tasks, blockchains automate away the center. Instead of putting the taxi driver…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/whereas-most-technologies-tend-to-automate-workers-on-the-periphery/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [The technical side of Ethereum's efficacy is 100% an engineering exercise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/the-technical-side-of-ethereum-s-efficacy-is-100-an-engineering/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [The main advantage of blockchain technology is supposed to be that it's more secure, but new technologies are generally hard for people to trust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/the-main-advantage-of-blockchain-technology-is-supposed-to-be-that-it/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) > [The Ethereum client is literally a fork of Chromium's webkit backend. The idea is that users can build their own interfaces with HTML/JavaScript just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitalik-buterin/the-ethereum-client-is-literally-a-fork-of-chromium-s-webkit-backend/) [Vitalik Buterin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) [Explore all 30 Vitalik Buterin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitalik-buterin/) ## More Be true quotes > [I believe in my Mormon faith, and I endeavor to live by it. 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Anyone can write stuff on Wikipedia, and it doesn't have to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hulce/in-the-world-of-the-internet-there-are-many-falsehoods-anyone-can/) [Tom Hulce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hulce/) > [They hate on you because you are beautiful, and they are trying to stop you from finding that out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-just-typed-whatever-popped-up-in-my-head/they-hate-on-you-because-you-are-beautiful-and-they-are-trying-to/) [I Just Typed Whatever Popped Up In My Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-just-typed-whatever-popped-up-in-my-head/) > [I have to be true to myself, and that's what I know for sure. 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