Ethereum is in decline, PVP is prevalent. I really 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/BTC exchange rate hit a new low, dropping to 0.022676, the lowest since June 2020. The ETH/BTC exchange rate continues to decline, with ICO-era whales fleeing, retail investors panicking, and constant FUD.

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 current popularity of PVP is the best product for blockchain, and that he and Ethereum are committed to creating better products.

During the more than 20 days that Vitalik has been absent from the network, Binance's two founders, CZ and He Yi, have taken the lead in making memes on X, leveraging the investment from the Abu Dhabi investment agency in Binance to spark a "white cloth market" for memes on the BSC chain.

In this cycle, the Meme track is booming with PVP prevalent, and a crazy gambling sentiment fills the crypto community. In addition, a broader sense of confusion looms over the crypto community, where the true innovations that can lead the industry to flourish 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 thrived on Ethereum.

Previously known as 'V God', now called 'Little V'

In the past, people referred to him as "V God" and regarded him as a spiritual leader who pointed 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 eventually responded on X, indicating that he does not agree that the current PVP model is the best product; he is pursuing a better product. Additionally, in response to the community's demands and responsibilities for the Ethereum Foundation's reforms, Vitalik expressed his fatigue regarding suggestions from those who know nothing about the foundation.

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

Groups often crave powerful leaders and eagerly need someone who can be idolized, thereby gaining psychological support and guidance. This drives them to create a cult of personality, amplifying the strengths of a particular individual and shaping them into an all-powerful "god." Once this constructed "god" fails to meet the overly high expectations of the masses, the shift in group attitudes is both rapid and brutal. They instantly transition from blind worship to fierce criticism, forcefully pushing the "god" off the pedestal and expressing their disappointment and anger through insults and defamation.

Vitalik has completely experienced a process of being deified and defamed by the crypto community. Once, in the crypto community, what Vitalik said and the ideas he proposed pointed the way for the crypto industry. Vitalik is keen to express various thoughts, such as SBT from a few years ago, digital nations, etc., which are 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 temporary 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 also faded away.

The bull market has arrived, but the directions that Vitalik "pointed out" during the bear market have not led to a massive outbreak 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 the DeFi Summer that once occurred on Ethereum has not reappeared in the crypto industry.

The infrastructure of blockchain has been fully built, the highways are already constructed, but there are no vehicles to drive on them. The current core contradiction in the blockchain industry is no longer related to infrastructure. Rather, 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 it in 2020. As for the most practical application in the crypto space right now, it can be said to be stablecoins, which are genuinely changing the traditional world in various fields such as cross-border payments.

Is there really no innovation left in the blockchain industry besides these? In this cycle, asset launch platforms on various chains are booming, which is merely an innovation in asset issuance methods, with the core of the casino dressed in a new outfit. Another area that is highly regarded is the blockchain AI track, which has attracted a large amount of funding, but the bubble was burst by the sudden emergence of Deepseek. A more prominent issue in this track is that the narrative's main focus is still on AI; blockchain technology can help AI Agents gain on-chain identities and build economic systems, etc., but it is always playing a supporting role for AI. This track is not a crypto-native track.

Under a wild expanse, casinos are regarded as the best products in the crypto industry. In the face of many people's advice, Vitalik himself and Ethereum are encouraged to engage more in the "casino" plays. Vitalik declined, saying, "If I look into my heart, I will find something worth fighting for."

Vitalik has also experienced the feeling of being put on a pedestal, 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 unable to listen to others' opinions. But it was also these traits that allowed him to create Ethereum.

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

Carl Jung once said, "When you were young, what could make time pass quickly and bring you joy? That answer is your pursuit in this world."

For Vitalik, what is worth fighting for has long been written in his childhood experiences. At the age of 4, Vitalik received a computer from his father. While other kids played computer games, he became fascinated with Excel software, and soon he was able to write automated calculation programs using Excel; at 7, he created a "Rabbit Encyclopedia" document filled with charts and mathematical formulas, soon recognized for his talent in mathematics and programming; by 10, his mental calculation speed was already more than double that of his peers; at 11, he began taking advanced classes in mathematics, programming, and economics in a "Genius Youngster Class"...

The programming technology itself makes Vitalik happy, and using technology to change the world is his pursuit. Compared to some speculators in the crypto space, he is relatively consistent and conservative.

In 2018, Ethereum experienced a sharp decline and faced skepticism from the community. Vitalik issued a warning—don't let Ethereum become a "tulip" for speculators to profit from. At that time, just like now, Vitalik also considered leaving Ethereum, saying, "Should I drop Ethereum and work for Google?"

Questions about Ethereum tend to arise whenever the coin price is low. In the face of community skepticism and insults, Vitalik often thinks about "leaving".

Vitalik has always had his own convictions. His commitment to technology and his vigilance against "bubbles" have 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 has widely adopted smart contracts, providing a platform for the prosperity of innovative financial mechanisms in DeFi, such as liquidity mining, the establishment of various Layer 2 solutions like Rollups and Plasma, the practical implementation of DAO governance models, and so on.

Currently, major institutions such as the Trump family's DeFi project, Sony's Layer2, and Deutsche Bank's Layer2 are increasingly building Web3 applications and infrastructure solutions on Ethereum. The Ethereum ecosystem is mature and leading in terms of technical resource reserves, developer team support, on-chain funding size, and client security.

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

Is Ethereum really doomed?

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, after this upgrade, the performance and stability of the Ethereum network will be improved on a technical level; economically, it changes the staking economic model of Ethereum, which will affect the supply and demand relationship and market price of Ethereum; on the 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 stakeable Ethereum spot ETF may also be approved. In the first quarter of 2025, asset management company 21Shares submitted an application on behalf of the CBOE BZX exchange, planning to introduce staking features into its spot Ethereum ETF. In addition, Fidelity submitted an S-1 form for the proposed Ethereum spot ETF, which includes staking functionality. Grayscale has also applied to provide staking features for the spot Ethereum ETF.

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

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

There is a consensus in the industry that one major reason for the relatively weak attractiveness of the current Ethereum spot ETF is that the existing ETFs do not have staking functionality. The launch of staking functionality will allow holders of the Ethereum spot ETF to receive rewards for staking Ethereum. After staking, investors will receive an annualized return of 3% to 3.5%. With the launch of a stakable Ethereum spot ETF, it is expected to significantly increase the inflow of funds into the Ethereum spot ETF, thereby driving up the price of Ethereum.

Both of these are substantial positives for the foreseeable Ethereum price this year.

But the other truth is that the upcoming expected changes in Ethereum are merely improvements along a foreseeable path. These changes are just making the highway wider and smoother. This is not a disruptive industry innovation, nor is it a pioneering 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 participation, and the price has not exceeded previous highs. Its TVL remains highest at the level seen in 2021.

Once it was the preferred choice for establishing smart contract platforms. Nowadays, as the infrastructure of the blockchain world has developed thoroughly, there are more and better public chains available at a lower cost, and Ethereum is no longer the only option. In this cycle, public chains like Solana, Sui, and TON have each developed their own ecological characteristics. Leading Ethereum Layer 2 solutions like Base have also achieved their own successes.

Vitalik's decentralization is a good thing for an industry, as the industry matures and Ethereum is no longer the only dominant player. More emerging talents can compete with it, which can stimulate a richer ecosystem. As the rich 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 operational costs. 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 does, it is all about laying the foundation for crypto.

Neither Ethereum nor Vitalik himself should bear the confusion and anger people have towards the entire industry's lack of innovation.

"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.

In the crypto community, those who feel confused and angry, after questioning their inner selves, will also make a choice: to stay and be a "builder," patiently creating something new in the desolation; or to leave and rush to the next opportunity to continue being a shrewd "speculator."