Overview

• Comparing the role to Google Search, Buterin says dependable financial primitives could fund Ethereum and contends the network can do better than Google ethically.
• He cites maturing protocols and market data, including DeFi TVL topping $100 billion and roughly 5% lending yields on major stablecoins such as USDT and USDC on Aave.
• Buterin criticizes reliance on memecoins and NFTs as unsustainable for fees, calling political memecoins “embarrassing” as a flagship use case.
• He sketches next steps for the low-risk core, including basket currencies, CPI-linked flatcoins, reputation-based undercollateralized lending, and prediction-market integrations for risk hedging.
• Addressing user frustration over an unstaking wait exceeding about 45 days, he defends the delay as part of Ethereum’s security model, as coverage also notes recent declines in on-chain fee revenue.