Overview
- Vitalik Buterin said Ethereum was created to set people free, not to make finance efficient or apps convenient.
- He argued the network must prioritize decentralized, permissionless, resilient blockspace before chasing speed, low fees, or polished UX.
- Coverage notes Ethereum’s layer‑1 has effectively stayed online since 2015 while access layers and some layer‑2s have suffered outages, and one report finds infrastructure failures trigger market shocks roughly 5.7 times larger than regulatory news.
- Reports cite recent upgrades, including 2025 scalability work such as Fusaka and zkEVM progress, alongside growing institutional use, with Token Terminal data showing stablecoin transfers above $4 trillion in Q4 2025.
- Reaction was mixed, with supporters backing a resilience‑first stance and critics like William Mougayar urging equal focus on usability and relevance.