Early Days of Ethereum

Anthony Di Iorio is an Ethereum co-founder who played a crucial role in the project's early organization and funding. He founded Bitcoin Decentral, Toronto's first Bitcoin co-working space, and served as head of the Bitcoin Association of Canada. His vision was for Ethereum to be headquartered in Toronto, though the project ultimately moved to Switzerland.

Bitcoin Decentral and Early Bitcoin Involvement

Di Iorio established Bitcoin Decentral as Toronto's first co-working space dedicated to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency projects:

The space became a hub for multiple cryptocurrency projects, with Ethereum being just one of several initiatives operating out of the venue.

The Miami House

In January 2014, Di Iorio organized the house in Miami that became the central gathering place for the Ethereum team during the Bitcoin conference where Vitalik Buterin first publicly announced Ethereum.

Taylor Gerring recalled the significance of that gathering:

"The house that Anthony Di Iorio had organized became kind of the hub and the central place where we all gathered around… That was the first time that I met and sat down with Vitalik." — Taylor Gerring

(The Ethereum team in their Miami house rented by Anthony Di Iorio for the 2014 Bitcoin conference. Top row: Dino Mark, Yanislav Malahov, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony D'Onofrio, Steve Dakh, Wendell Davis, Jonathan Mohan, Joseph Lubin, [REDACTED]. Bottom row: Gavin Wood, Vitalik Buterin, Anthony Di Iorio, Taylor Gerring, Jason Colby, Kyle Kurbegovich - from Taylor Gerring's photos)

The conference itself was a pivotal moment. Taylor described the scene after Vitalik's announcement:

"That room was standing room only… afterwards the questions kept coming in and kept coming in and the organizers had to ask him to step outside and I just remember these photos of like him being mobbed by a group of people… I think Joe Lubin was standing right there. Probably Anthony Di Iorio was probably real close." — Taylor Gerring

(Joe Lubin and Anthony Di Iorio can be seen next to Vitalik as the crowd encroaches - 26th January 2014. From Taylor Gerring's photos)

Early Leadership Structure

Kieren James-Lubin described the early Ethereum leadership structure, with Di Iorio as one of the key business figures:

"Joe, my dad, and Anthony Di Iorio [were] the other business guys who probably had the most operating experience." — Kieren James-Lubin

Along with Joe Lubin, Charles Hoskinson, and Amir Chetrit, Di Iorio represented the business side of Ethereum's early team.

Ethereum Canada and the Toronto Vision

In February 2014, just days before everyone traveled to Zug, Di Iorio incorporated Ethereum Canada. As Bob Summerwill explained, his vision was for Ethereum development to be centered in Toronto:

"Anthony Di Iorio incorporated Ethereum Canada in February, actually, but it was about just a few days before everyone went to Zug. So his thought, I guess, was everything was going to happen out of Toronto, but that didn't happen." — Bob Summerwill

Bitcoin Expo 2014

In April 2014, Di Iorio organized the Bitcoin Expo in Toronto, which featured the only Ethereum exhibition booth ever at a conference. Bob Summerwill described the setup:

"Anthony Di Iorio running that, he'd got Bitcoin Decentral sort of co-working space and venue… He was the head of the Bitcoin Association of Canada. The Bitcoin Association were running the conference. Ethereum were the main sponsor for the conference." — Bob Summerwill

Bitcoin Expo 2014 Toronto

Attend the first Bitcoin Expo in Canada

bitcoinexpo.ca

April 11, 2014

(From Taylor Gerring's photos)

Taylor Gerring later observed in The Cryptopians: "So this is how marketing works. Throw an event so you have something to sponsor."

Di Iorio's expectation was that Ethereum would be one of many projects operating out of Bitcoin Decentral:

"Anthony's thought and expectation was like, all of this is going to happen out of Toronto, right? Ethereum is just one of N projects that are happening out of Bitcoin Decentral there." — Bob Summerwill

The Red Wedding and Foundation Formation

Di Iorio traveled to Zug in June 2014 for what became known as the "Red Wedding" - the pivotal moment when the decision was made to form a non-profit foundation rather than a for-profit company. Bob Summerwill recounted:

"The 'Red Wedding' was 3rd of June 2014… you had people coming, notably Anthony Di Iorio coming to Zug at that point to sign papers. It was to do with that EthSuisse legal entity. And then it was like, yep, no, we're not signing the papers, big mess." — Bob Summerwill

Primary Sources

This profile draws from multiple Early Days of Ethereum interviews:

• Episode 1 with Victor Wong, Kieren James-Lubin, and James Hormuzdiar
• Episode 4 with Taylor Gerring
• Episode 5 with Anthony D'Onofrio
• Episode 9 with Amir Taaki

See also Taylor Gerring's photos from 2014 for visual documentation of this period.