In a recent blog post titled “Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again” the founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin has expressed his thoughts on the current state of the Web3 ecosystem.
Ethereum Founder Voices Concerns Over Faded Web3 Vision
In a blog post published on December 28, Ethereum Founder, Vitalik Buterin reflected on his past experiences from a decade ago where he witnessed Bitcoin’s steady adoption and integration into daily life activities. In this reflection, Buterin highlighted the transformative vision he visualizes of the Web3 ecosystem.
“The reason why I bring these memories up is that they remind me of a deeper vision underlying crypto: we are not here to just create isolated tools and games, but rather build holistically toward a more free and open society and economy, where the different parts – technological, social and economic – fit into each other,” Buterin wrote in the blog post.
While maintaining a positive perspective of the Web3 ecosystem, Buterin acknowledged that the vision for the Web3 space has become somewhat diminished. He noted that the vision had begun fading into the background since 2017.
The Ethereum founder highlighted several reasons for his statement, with the foremost factor being the rise of transaction fees, which he identified as the number one culprit for the fading Web3 vision.
Buterin explained that when the cost of writing to the chain was $0.001 or $0.1, many individuals would actively engage with blockchains. However, as transaction fees rise to $100, a specific audience, the degen gamblers remain willing to pay the substantial cost.
Buterin pointed out that when degen gamblers become the predominant users of the chain, it alters the perception of the public and adversely affects the internal culture of the crypto space.
He also revealed that “there is a large ideological rift where significant parts of the non-blockchain decentralization community see the crypto world as a distraction, and not as a kindred spirit and a powerful ally. In many countries, people do use cryptocurrency to send and save money, but they often do this through centralized means.”
Cypherpunk Future Achievable Amid 2023 Development
In his blog post, Buterin highlighted several positive developments made in 2023 that could facilitate the development of a cypherpunk future for the Web3 space.
Some of these developments include the existence of Blockchain Rollups which are special Layer-2 blockchains that process transactions off-chain. Buterin also noted the expansion of second-generation privacy solutions like Railway and Nocturne, alongside advancements in Zero Knowledge Proofs, a powerful tool used for enhancing privacy and security.
Concluding his list of positive developments within the Web3 space in 2023, Buterin affirmed that these changes would create a great opportunity for the Ethereum blockchain.
He stated that the developments would “make at least a part of the Ethereum ecosystem actually be the permissionless, decentralized, censorship-resistant, open source ecosystem that we originally came to build.”