Vitalik Buterin published an article on his blog yesterday entitled “Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again.” In the article, he discusses the ultimate goal of cryptocurrency, which is to pursue the values of Web3. However, he acknowledges that the increasing financial and speculative nature of the industry has made it more challenging to achieve this goal. Nevertheless, he believes that it is possible to think about how to integrate these conflicting aspects rather than simply rejecting one in favor of the other.
The article emphasizes the importance of Web3 and its vision of creating a more free and open society and economic environment. It explains that Web3 is a term coined by Gavin Wood and aims to build a more open network stack. The ideal Web3 technology and applications should have certain characteristics, including being permissionless, decentralized, censorship-resistant, auditable, trustworthy, neutral, and cooperative.
However, the article argues that there has been a growing gap between the ideal vision of Web3 and the reality of the industry. It cites examples such as the centralized use of cryptocurrencies for remittances and trading, the emergence of centralized “Layer2” systems, the introduction of simpler but more centralized account abstraction systems, and the vulnerability of NFT projects that store metadata on centralized servers.
Vitalik also criticizes the over-financialization and speculation in the crypto industry, which he believes is primarily caused by the rising transaction fees. He argues that when transaction costs are low, people can use blockchain technology to create creative applications. However, when transaction fees are high, only speculators and degenerate gamblers are willing to participate, leading to a financialized and speculative ecosystem.
To address these issues, Vitalik suggests integrating rather than rejecting the financial attributes of the industry. He gives examples of how cryptocurrency incentives can change social attitudes, drive the development of decentralized projects, and create consensus within network communities. He acknowledges that integrating incentives is not easy and requires both technical and social consensus. He also emphasizes the importance of Ethereum’s governance as a non-financialized model that balances interests and expertise, allowing various development teams to work together towards the ideal vision of Web3.
In conclusion, the article highlights the need to integrate financial attributes into the Web3 vision and emphasizes the importance of both technical and social solutions. It suggests that by balancing incentives and values, the crypto industry can create a more ideal and efficient Web3 world.