The founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, has issued one of his strongest warnings yet: if the network limits itself to DeFi and focuses on revenues and political coins, it will betray the original mission of Ethereum.
Ethereum Beyond DeFi
In a post on the X social network on March 3, Buterin shared an essay-like reflection on how he shared his concerns and the concerns of those around him, stressing that Ethereum is not doing enough to make a difference among global threats such as “government control and surveillance, wars, corporate power and control.”
He claims that Ethereum will significantly improve the lives of people affected by these forces, even in the dimensions that the ecosystem claims to care about freedom, privacy, security of digital life and self-governance of society. Buterin says:
It appears that Ethereum has made meaningful improvements to the lives of people who are subject to these things, even in dimensions that we care deeply about (e.g., freedom, privacy, security of digital life, community self-governance).
Buterin emphasizes that his criticism is not aimed at DeFi itself. On the one hand, he warns of the narrow culture that has grown up around it, consisting of empty trends that turn politics and real concerns into spectacles through the coinage of political memes and “various gambling programs.”
On the other hand, he laments that if Ethereum continues its “laser focus” on finance, its impact on improving people’s lives will remain minimal, with what he calls “liberating technologies” like Starlink or Signal, which will change the balance of power in the real world. He recognizes the importance of financial freedom, but it is no longer enough. Buterin added:
Financial freedom and security are important. But it seems clear that while adding a completely free and open and sovereign and unfettered financial system would fix some things, it would leave unaddressed much of our deepest concerns about the world. It’s okay for individuals to be laser-focused on finances, but we need to be part of something bigger that speaks to other challenges as well.
Path to sacred technologies
Realizing that “Ethereum can’t fix the world,” Buterin suggests that what Ethereum needs to do is consider itself as “part of an ecosystem” that builds “shelter technologies.” It means tools that give people a place to communicate, organize and store value in a way that states and corporations cannot easily control, censor or confiscate.
Among other things, this is the goal
Buterin’s ambitious and comprehensive approach seeks one main goal: “enabling interdependence that cannot be weaponized,” as opposed to remaking the world in the shape of Ethereum. In summary, Buterin states that this interdependence rests on four pillars: finance (ETH, stablecoins, DeFi), communication (encrypted messaging, censorship-resistant social), coordination (DAOs, crowdfunding, mutual aid) and identity (informal identification and repossession). In the words of Buterin:
Ethereum’s role is to create a “digital space” where different entities can interact and collaborate.
When Crypto Becomes Tech Survival
Crypto has already shown what happens when blockchains become a means of survival instead of a trade. In places like Venezuela, families use stablecoins and Bitcoin to move money around capital controls, protect savings against hyperinflation, and move money in and out of local banks or government control instruments. Activists and dissidents rely on censorship-resistant rails to gain support, fund legal defenses, and simply connect to the global economy that their governments are trying to cut off.
According to an article published on our sister website NewsBTC, crypto has become a financial lifeline for ordinary Iranian households amid political unrest and economic collapse. For ordinary users, crypto remains a line of hope against capital controls and inflation.
Whether Ethereum lives up to Vitalik Buterin’s promise will determine not only its market value, but its relevance in a world where financial censorship and digital authoritarianism are no longer hypothetical.
ETH's price trends to the upside on the daily chart. Source: ETHUSD on Tradingview
Cover image from ChatGPT, ETHUSD chart from Tradingview
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