DENVER — With the anti-climactic success of the Ethereum merge behind him, Buterin suits up to realize a lifelong dream.

"Turns out this Ethereum thing is kind of boring," quoted Vitalik in a recent interview.

From Shiba Inu pajama pants and sombreros to dinosaur costumes and a full on Buffircorn suit, If you haven’t been following the trend of Buterin's public appearances, the writing has been on the wall for quite some time.

“Proto-danksharding will be the biggest thing after the merge,” Buterin stated in response to the question about Ethereum's roadmap. “Our biggest hurdle is behind us and, to be honest, I’ve really just been the internal Ethereum cheerleader all along. The core devs, they got this. And speaking of cheerleaders,” Buterin coyly winked.

Buterin did not give any specifics, but during the interview he said he was ready for the "big leagues” and hinted at pursuing the high stakes adrenaline fueled career of professional NBA mascot.

“Time to move from EIP to VIP - Vitalik Improvement Proposal,” chuckled Buterin. “I mean, Hugo the Hornet, c’mon. Flying off of that springboard device and slamming down the spherical sports ball through the circular point scoring receptacle day in and day out. All eyes on you. The energy from the crowd. How gwei would that be?”

Perhaps, Buterin is on the cusp of the greatest hard fork of his career. Fly Vitalik, fly.

If you want more of the hardest hitting headlines sent straight to your inbox subscribe to The Rug’s Newsletter.