Vitalik Buterin has always been regarded as the quiet genius behind Ethereum. Focused and introspective, you’re more interested in solving complex problems than fueling hype. But that seems to have changed recently.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum.
(Shutterstock)
Posted October 19, 2024 at 3:12 AM ET.
Ethereum’s price has been struggling, especially when compared to Bitcoin and Solana. The price of 1 ETH to 1 BTC has fallen by 30% over the past year, and this ratio has been consistently declining for the past three years after peaking in November 2021.
Why is this happening? Many have pointed out that Ethereum relies on a Layer 2 solution, which they say is “parasitic” on the main Ethereum Layer 1. Some people. Critics claim that Ethereum’s “rollup-centric scaling roadmap” takes the focus away from improving the base layer itself. Another factor is that the Ethereum community has migrated to platforms such as Farcaster, and X, where much of the retail crypto attention has been focused, has been dominated by projects like Solana that have adopted a more active public sphere. That’s what happened.
Read more: Is L2 “parasitic”? Analysis shows Ethereum receives only a small percentage of fees
Video: Is Layer 2 parasitic to Ethereum and ETH as an asset?
Some have accused Vitalik Buterin of not making enough “bullish posts”, that is, promoting Ethereum with the same energy as other blockchain leaders. In response, Buterin posted a meme in late August featuring a bull wearing a sign that said “Ethereum is good.” But now it looks like this meme is becoming a reality.
I was told that I needed to “do less philosophical stuff and more Ethereum bullposting.” So here is a stable spread 3 repair + Ethereum bullpost courtesy of gimp. pic.twitter.com/ZcPjNVImpn
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 21, 2024
This week, Buterin published two major blog posts that address some of Etheruem’s main challenges. In it, he proposed lowering the staking requirement from 32 ETH to 1 ETH to make Ethereum more accessible, and supported the idea of ”single-slot finality,” which could reduce transaction finalization time to 12 seconds. I did. He also reaffirmed his commitment to scaling Ethereum to 100,000 transactions per second through “The Surge,” a combination of sharding and L2 solutions.
Read more: Ethereum’s “The Surge” main goal is 100,000 TPS: Vitalik Buterin
In effect, Buterin appears to be in “founder mode.” Not only does he support Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap, he also focuses on scaling Ethereum’s Layer 1, which has been a growing concern within the community.
One of the things that sets Ethereum apart is its extreme decentralization. There is no CEO in charge of marketing or promoting the project with bullish tweets. And to be fair, Vitalik has never cared about the price of Ethereum. The Ethereum community has a unique culture that seems to largely ignore price fluctuations, especially when compared to Solana and the tribes that support Bitcoin. Buterin himself has expressed many times that he wants blockchain to evolve beyond just being about money.
This direction has not received attention. DeFi entrepreneur Cain Warwick criticized Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation in a tweet in August, calling them “anti-DeFi” without mentioning Buterin by name. However, looking at recent posts, it appears that Buterin is focused on not only making Ethereum faster, but also making it more decentralized and accessible to everyone, regardless of the price of ETH.
Buterin’s consolidation reflects a broader trend, as key Ethereum figures such as Steven Goldfeder, CEO of Offchain Labs (the team behind Layer 2 solution Arbitrum), are also adopting more aggressive positions. I’m doing it. Goldfeder has pushed back against claims that L2 is not part of Ethereum, and has even had a heated exchange with Solana investor Kyle Samani.
Now, Vitalik appears to be taking a more active role, but the question is whether ETH will be able to regain its footing or continue to be in the shadow of its competitors.
Read more: Ethereum has had a banner year in most regions. Except for the price.
