Overview

• He rejects memecoins and NFT frenzies as suitable flagships, urging a shift to stable, permissionless finance.
• DeFi activity has rebounded with TVL topping $100 billion and blue‑chip stablecoin lending yields around 5% on Aave.
• Despite the thesis, Ethereum’s on‑chain revenue slid 44% in August as lower L2 costs after Dencun reduced base‑layer fees.
• A prolonged unstaking queue exceeding 45 days has drawn complaints, which Buterin characterizes as a necessary security trade‑off.
• He points to future instruments such as CPI‑linked flatcoins, basket currencies and reputation‑based lending to broaden on‑chain money.