The founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, issued one of his strongest warnings yet: if the network continues to limit itself to DeFi, focusing on harvesting and political meme coins, it will betray the original work of Ethereum.
Ethereum Without DeFi
In a post on the social network X on March 3, Buterin shared an article showing how his concerns, and the concerns of the people around him, highlight the fact that Ethereum is not doing enough to be an effective force for change in the midst of global threats such as “government control and surveillance, wars, corporate power and surveillance.”
He argues that Ethereum seems to be lacking in improving the lives of people under this power, even on the dimensions the ecosystem says it cares most about: freedom, privacy, security of digital life, and social inclusion. Buterin says:
Ethereum seems to be missing out on improving the lives of people who are at the bottom of these things, even in areas we care deeply about (eg, freedom, privacy, security of digital life, social inclusion).
Buterin emphasizes that his criticism is not aimed at DeFi itself. On the other hand, he warns of a subculture that has grown in it, built on absurdist trends that turn real-world politics and concerns into a spectacle for political coins and “empty gambling claims.”
On the other hand, he laments that if Ethereum continues to be “laser-focused” on finance, its impact on improving people’s lives will remain small, a significant contrast to what he calls “liberating technologies” such as Starlink or Signal, which are already reshaping the balance of power in the real world. He acknowledges the importance of financial freedom, but says it is not enough. Buterin adds:
Financial freedom and security are important. But it seems clear that, while adding a free and fully open and decentralized financial system would fix some things, it would leave many of our deepest concerns about the world unaddressed. It’s okay for individuals to focus on finances, but we need to be part of something bigger that has things to say about other issues as well.
Path to Sanctuary Technologies
Understanding that “Ethereum cannot fix the world”, Buterin suggests that what Ethereum should do is to consider itself “as part of the ecosystem structure ‘sanctuary technology'”. This means tools that give people a place to communicate, organize, and hold value that states and companies can easily monitor, inspect, or confiscate.
The goal is to extract the essence
The ambitious and comprehensive approach proposed by Buterin seeks one main goal: “allowing insurmountable interdependence”, as opposed to remaking the world in the form of Ethereum. Summing up, Buterin says that this interdependence rests on four pillars: finance (ETH, stablecoins, DeFi), communication (encrypted messaging, anti-censorship public security), coordination (DAOs, crowdfunding, mutual aid) and ownership (non-storable IDs). In the words of Buterin:
Ethereum’s role is to create a “digital space” where different organizations can collaborate and collaborate.
When Crypto Becomes Survival Tech
Crypto has already shown what it looks like when blockchains become survival tools rather than trading platforms. In places like Venezuela, households are using stablecoins and Bitcoin to move money around capital controls, protect savings against inflation, and move money when local banks collapse or become instruments of state control and beyond. Activists and dissidents rely on anti-censorship channels to garner support, fund legal defenses, and stay connected to the global economy that their governments are trying to cut them off from.
According to an article posted on our sister website NewsBTC, crypto has become a financial resource for ordinary Iranian households amid political unrest and economic collapse. For ordinary users, crypto remains a lifeline of hope against financial regulation and inflation.
Whether Ethereum lives up to Vitalik Buterin’s promise will explain not only its market edge, but its relevance in a world where auditing and digital authorization are no longer considered.
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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