Crypto’s Trumpian Embrace Is Leaving Bitcoin’s Big Rival Behind

Vitalik Buterin was long viewed as the wunderkind of the cryptocurrency world.

The gawky, playful founder of Ethereum — known for his rainbow-colored, animal-themed shirts — created the biggest competitor to Bitcoin and offered a techno-utopian vision that was supposed to change the financial system and our everyday digital lives.

But after capturing the imaginations of both corporate America and Wall Street, Buterin’s project is now struggling to deliver on its early promise as it enters its second decade, having fallen out of step in an industry transformed by the embrace of Donald Trump. Developers have been fleeing, early followers ...