Vitalik is a pure genius and the success of Ethereum is of historical proportion.

Not sure he was at the origin of the "BTC Maxis" wording, maybe so, but that's surely not what defines the guy. He also explained many times from the start that Ethereum and Bitcoin were not competitors. The people who grasped the "Maxis" flag are the one constantly opposing ETH to BTC, insulting all other projects, and damaging the Bitcoin image on a daily basis in the process.

It also helps to know that Vitalik was the first editor in chief and co-founder of Bitcoin Magazine 10 years ago, meaning the guy made more to get people aware of Bitcoin in the early days than most people here.