Ethereum has declined, PVP is prevalent, I miss the summer of 2020.

Jessy (@susanliu33), Golden Finance

Vitalik has been missing on X for over 20 days.

In the past 20 days, the price of Ethereum has repeatedly fallen below investors' psychological barriers. On March 12, the ETH to BTC exchange rate hit a new low, dropping to 0.022676, the lowest since June 2020. The ETH to BTC exchange rate continues to decline, with ICO-era whales fleeing, retail investors panicking, and FUD constantly circulating.

In February, a dispute broke out within the Ethereum community, where the community wanted Vitalik to lower his noble head and see what the industry is currently playing with. In response to the criticism, Vitalik stated that he does not believe that the currently popular PVP is the best product of blockchain, and what he and Ethereum are committed to is creating better products.

During the more than 20 days that Vitalik has been absent from the internet, the two founders of Binance, CZ and He Yi, have taken the lead in creating memes on X, capitalizing on the investment from an Abu Dhabi investment agency in Binance, igniting a "white cloth market" of memes on the BSC chain.

In this cycle, the Meme sector is booming, and PVP is prevalent, with a crazy gambling mentality permeating the crypto community. Besides this, a broader sense of confusion looms over the crypto community, as the real innovations that can lead the industry to thrive have disappeared.

The industry is desolate, and Memes have become the main narrative. People are starting to reminisce about the summer of 2020 when DeFi was booming on Ethereum.

Previously called "V God", now called "Little V"

Once, people called him "V God" and regarded him as a spiritual leader, relying on him to point the direction for the development of cryptocurrency. Now people call him "Little V" and want him to "get out" of Ethereum.

Vitalik recently became the focus of public opinion in early February. At that time, the community was filled with voices of FUD regarding Ethereum. In response to people's doubts, rational suggestions, or emotional insults, Vitalik ultimately responded on X, stating that he does not believe the current PVP model is the best product, and he is pursuing a better product. Additionally, in response to the community's demands and responsibilities for reforming the Ethereum Foundation, Vitalik expressed his exhaustion regarding suggestions from people who know nothing about the foundation.

Vitalik has become the target of criticism, which was unimaginable two years ago.

Groups often yearn for powerful leaders and urgently need someone to worship, in order to gain psychological support and guidance. This drives them to create idols, amplifying the strengths of a particular individual to shape an all-powerful "god." Once this created "god" fails to meet the overly high expectations of the public, the shift in the group's attitude is swift and brutal. They instantly transition from blind worship to fierce criticism, forcefully pushing the "god" off the pedestal and venting their disappointment and anger through insults and slander.

Vitalik has gone through a process of being idolized and demonized by the crypto community. In the past, what Vitalik said and the ideas he proposed pointed the way for the crypto industry. Vitalik was eager to express various thoughts, such as SBT and network nations from a few years ago, which were concepts proposed or strongly supported by Vitalik. It was under Vitalik's vigorous promotion that these new concepts were embraced and practiced by project parties in the industry at that time, becoming a trend.

Especially during bear markets, major projects will strategically layout the tracks that will explode during bull markets. At that time, Vitalik was optimistic about Web3 social, and entrepreneurs flocked to it, but after a period of popularity during the bear market, it all cooled down.

The bull market has arrived, but the directions pointed out by Vitalik during the bear market have not led to a major explosion in the application layer during the bull market. Chaos and confusion have become the feelings of most project teams.

There has been no real innovation, no new narratives that can invigorate the industry, and the grand spectacle of DeFi Summer that once occurred on Ethereum has not reappeared in the cryptocurrency industry.

The infrastructure of blockchain has been completed, the highways have already been built, but there are no cars to drive on them. The core contradiction in the blockchain industry now has nothing to do with infrastructure. Instead, it is about what changes blockchain can bring to human life or the products of the world. What is the answer to this question?

If the answer is payment, then Bitcoin provided that answer back in 2008. If the answer is DeFi, then Ethereum provided that answer in 2020. Currently, the most practical application in the crypto world can be said to be stablecoins, which are genuinely changing the traditional world in various fields such as cross-border payments.

Is there no more innovation in the blockchain industry besides these? During this cycle, asset launch platforms on various chains have become popular, which is merely an innovation in the way assets are issued, essentially a new facade for the casino's core. Another area that many are optimistic about is the blockchain AI track, which has attracted significant funding; however, the bubble was burst by the sudden emergence of Deepseek. A more prominent issue in this track is that the narrative's main focus remains on AI. Blockchain technology can help AI agents obtain on-chain identities, build economic systems, and so on, but it is always in service of AI. This track is not native to crypto.

Under a vast wilderness, casinos are regarded as the best products in the crypto industry. In the face of many people's advice, Vitalik himself and Ethereum are able to immerse themselves more in the "casino" gameplay. Vitalik refused, saying, "If I look into my heart, I will find something worth fighting for."

Vitalik has also enjoyed the feeling of being idolized, and when he was brought down from that pedestal, people saw his human side. This human side, in the eyes of some, is stubborn, arrogant, and unwilling to listen to others' opinions. But it was also these traits that allowed him to create Ethereum.

The passion that makes time fly in youth can change the world

Jung once said, "When you were young, what you did that made time fly and brought you joy, that answer is your pursuit in this world."

For Vitalik, the things worth fighting for have long been written in his childhood experiences. At the age of 4, Vitalik received a computer from his father. While other children played computer games, he became obsessed with Excel software and soon was able to write automated calculation programs using Excel. At 7, he created a "Rabbit Encyclopedia" document filled with charts and mathematical formulas, which soon confirmed his talent in mathematics and programming. By the age of 10, his mental calculation speed with three-digit numbers was more than twice that of his peers. At 11, he began to study subjects such as mathematics, programming, and economics in advance in a "Genius Youth Class"...

Vitalik is happy with programming technology itself, and using technology to change the world is his pursuit. In contrast to some speculators in the cryptocurrency circle, he is relatively conservative.

In 2018, Ethereum plummeted and faced skepticism from the community. Vitalik once issued a warning - do not let Ethereum become a "tulip" for speculators to profit from. At that time, just like now, Vitalik had also considered leaving Ethereum, asking himself, "Should I drop Ethereum and work for Google?"

Doubts about Ethereum tend to arise whenever the coin price is low. In the face of community criticism and abuse, Vitalik always thinks about "leaving".

Vitalik has always had his own persistence. His commitment to technology and vigilance against "bubbles" has never changed. It is precisely these commitments that have brought transformation and innovation to the crypto world.

Looking back at the history of cryptocurrency development, the most important innovations that have led the industry over the past decade have largely occurred on Ethereum, known as the "world computer": Ethereum widely adopted smart contracts, providing a platform for the prosperity of innovative financial mechanisms such as liquidity mining in DeFi, the development of various layer two solutions like Rollups and Plasma, the practice of DAO governance models, and so on.

Currently, various major institutions such as Trump's family's DeFi project, Sony's Layer 2, and Deutsche Bank's Layer 2 are increasingly building Web3 applications and infrastructure solutions on Ethereum. The Ethereum ecosystem is mature and leading in terms of technical resource reserves, development team support, on-chain capital volume, and client security.

Moreover, Vitalik is not only realizing his technical ideals through Ethereum, but he also places his social ideals on Ethereum, which is not limited to Ethereum alone. The concepts he advocates, such as decentralization, resistance to censorship, and Quadratic Voting, relate to democratic practices, internet infrastructure, and both commercial and public welfare organizations. This extends his influence beyond the crypto community.

Is Ethereum really beyond saving?

Is there still something to look forward to with Ethereum? The answer is yes.

In April, Ethereum will welcome the mainnet launch of the Pectra upgrade. This change integrates the execution layer (Prague upgrade) and the consensus layer (Electra upgrade). Pectra introduces 11 key Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) aimed at enhancing scalability, staking flexibility, and user experience. Overall, this upgrade will improve the performance and stability of the Ethereum network on a technical level; on an economic level, it changes Ethereum's staking economic model, which will impact Ethereum's supply and demand relationship and market price; on an application level, it will attract more developers and users into the Ethereum ecosystem, promoting innovation and development of decentralized applications, among other things.

In the United States, a stakable Ethereum spot ETF may also be approved. In the first quarter of 2025, the asset management company 21Shares submitted an application on behalf of the CBOE BZX exchange, planning to introduce staking features into its Ethereum spot ETF. In addition, Fidelity submitted an S-1 form for the proposed Ethereum spot ETF, which includes staking features. Grayscale has also applied to provide staking features for the Ethereum spot ETF.

The implementation of the Pectra upgrade is expected to shorten the unbonding period for Ethereum staking, which was a significant obstacle when staking was initially introduced for spot ETFs.

This upgrade may become a catalyst for the approval of the staking ETF.

There is a consensus in the industry that one major reason for the weak attractiveness of the current Ethereum spot ETF is that the ETFs do not have a staking function. The launch of the staking function will allow holders of the Ethereum spot ETF to receive rewards for staking Ethereum. After staking, investors will earn an annualized return of 3-3.5%. With the launch of the stakeable Ethereum spot ETF, it may significantly increase the fund inflow into the Ethereum spot ETF, thereby raising the price of Ethereum.

Both of these are substantial positives for the price of Ethereum that can be anticipated this year.

However, another truth is that the upcoming expected transformations in Ethereum are merely improvements made along a foreseeable path. These changes are simply widening and smoothing the highway. This is not a disruptive industry innovation, nor is it a groundbreaking product or application.

The use cases of Ethereum have actually reached their peak. In this cycle, there have been no projects on the Ethereum main chain that have seen widespread public participation, and the price has not exceeded previous highs. Its TVL remains at the highest level from 2021.

Once it was the preferred choice for building smart contract platforms. Nowadays, as the infrastructure of the blockchain world has developed and matured, there are more and better public chains available that are also cheaper, Ethereum is no longer the only option. In this cycle, public chains like Solana, Sui, and TON have each developed their own ecological features. Leading Ethereum Layer 2 solutions such as Base have also made their own achievements.

Vitalik's decentralization is a good thing for the industry. The development of the industry is maturing, and Ethereum is no longer the only dominant player; more emerging talents can compete with it, which can stimulate a richer ecosystem. As a robust blockchain ecosystem is established, Ethereum's importance in the industry will inevitably decline.

Vitalik once said in an interview with端传媒, "My life is about being a bridge for everything." Since 2015, the Ethereum Foundation has spent more on external funding than on internal operations. These grants have allowed Ethereum to connect more teams and have promoted the development of various projects in the crypto industry. Whether it is Ethereum itself or what Vitalik is doing, it is all about laying the foundation for crypto.

Neither Ethereum nor Vitalik himself should bear the confusion and anger of people regarding the lack of innovation in the entire industry.

"If you look inside yourself, you will find things worth fighting for too." Vitalik, who knows what he should strive for, will return again after a brief disappointment.

People who are confused and angry in the crypto community, after questioning their own hearts, will also make a choice: to stay and become a "builder," patiently creating something new in the desolation, or to leave and rush to the next opportunity, continuing to be a savvy "speculator."