Author: Jessy, Jinse Finance

Vitalik disappeared from X for over 20 days.

During these 20+ days, Ethereum's price repeatedly broke through investors' psychological barriers. On March 12, the ETH/BTC exchange rate hit a new low of 0.022676, the lowest since June 2020. As the ETH/BTC rate continued to decline, whales from the ICO period fled, retail investors panicked, and FUD voices grew louder.

In February, a dispute erupted within the Ethereum community, with members wanting Vitalik to lower his noble head and see what the industry is currently doing. In response to criticism, Vitalik stated that he does not believe the current PVP trend is the best blockchain product, and he and Ethereum are committed to creating better products.

During Vitalik's 20+ day absence from the network, Binance's two founders CZ and He Yi led the way in playing memes on X, sparking a "white canvas trend" of BSC chain memes, leveraging the investment from Abu Dhabi investment institutions.

In this cycle, the MEME track is hot, PVP is prevalent, and crazy gambling emotions flood the crypto community. Beyond this, a broader sense of confusion shrouds the crypto community, with the true innovation that could drive the industry forward seemingly disappeared.

The industry is barren, with MEME becoming the main narrative. People began to reminisce about the DeFi-thriving summer of 2020 on Ethereum.

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

Before, people called him "V God", treating him as a spiritual leader who pointed out the direction of crypto development. Now people call him "Little V" and want him to "get out" of Ethereum.

Vitalik's most recent focus of public opinion was in early February. At that time, the community was filled with FUD voices about Ethereum. Facing questioning, rational suggestions, or emotional abuse, Vitalik ultimately responded on X, essentially saying: He does not agree that the current PVP model is the best product, and he pursues better products. Regarding demands for innovation at the Ethereum Foundation, Vitalik also expressed exhaustion with advice from those who know nothing about the foundation's internal workings.

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It was unimaginable two years ago that Vitalik would become the target of public criticism.

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Looking back at the history of crypto development, the most important innovations leading industry growth in the past decade mostly occurred on Ethereum, known as the "World Computer": Ethereum widely adopted smart contracts, providing a platform for innovative financial mechanisms in DeFi such as liquidity mining, building various Layer 2 solutions like Rollups and Plasma, and practicing DAO governance models.

Currently, more and more institutions like the Trump family's DeFi project, Sony's Layer 2, and Deutsche Bank's Layer 2 are building Web3 applications and infrastructure solutions on Ethereum. Ethereum's ecosystem is mature and leading in terms of technical resource reserves, development team support, on-chain fund volume, and client security.

Moreover, Vitalik is not only realizing his technical ideals through Ethereum but also projecting his social ideals onto it, and not limiting himself to Ethereum. His advocated concepts like decentralization, censorship resistance, and Quadratic Voting involve democratic practices, internet structure, and business and public welfare organizations, extending his influence beyond the crypto community.

Is Ethereum Really Beyond Salvation?

Are there still expectations for Ethereum? The answer is yes.

In April, Ethereum will welcome the Pectra mainnet upgrade, merging execution layer (Prague upgrade) and 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 technically improve Ethereum's network performance and stability; economically change Ethereum's staking economic model, affecting its supply-demand relationship and market price; and at the application level, attract more developers and users to the Ethereum ecosystem, driving decentralized application innovation and development.

In the US, a staking-enabled Ethereum spot ETF may also be approved. In the first quarter of 2025, asset management company 21Shares submitted an application to CBOE BZX Exchange, planning to introduce staking functionality to its Ethereum spot ETF. Additionally, Fidelity submitted an S-1 form for a proposed Ethereum spot ETF, including staking functionality. Grayscale has also applied to provide staking functionality for an Ethereum spot ETF.

The Pectra upgrade is expected to shorten Ethereum's unstaking period, which was initially a major obstacle to introducing staking for spot ETFs.

This upgrade may become a catalyst for staking ETF approval.

There is an industry consensus that a key reason for the current Ethereum spot ETF's weak attractiveness is the lack of staking functionality. The launch of staking functionality will allow Ethereum spot ETF holders to receive staking rewards. After staking, investors will obtain 3-3.5% annual returns. With the launch of staking-enabled Ethereum spot ETFs, it may significantly increase capital inflow and potentially drive up Ethereum's price.

These two factors are substantial positive signals for Ethereum's price this year.

However, the truth is that these anticipated Ethereum transformations are merely improvements on a foreseeable path. These changes are just making the highway wider and smoother. They are not disruptive industry innovations or groundbreaking products or applications.

Ethereum's use cases have actually reached their peak. In this cycle, no widespread projects have emerged on the Ethereum mainnet, and its price has not exceeded previous highs. Its Total Value Locked (TVL) remains at its 2021 peak.

Once the first choice for smart contract platforms, now that blockchain infrastructure has developed comprehensively with more and better, cheaper platform public chains available, Ethereum is no longer the only option. In this cycle, public chains like Solana, Sui, and TON have each developed their unique ecosystem characteristics. Top Ethereum Layer 2 solutions like Base have also achieved their own successes.

Vitalik's demystification is good for an industry. As the industry matures and Ethereum no longer dominates, more emerging players can compete, potentially sparking a richer ecosystem. As a diverse blockchain ecosystem is established, Ethereum's importance in the industry will naturally decline.

Vitalik once said in an interview, "My life is about being a bridge for everything." Since 2015, the Ethereum Foundation has spent more on external funding than internal operations. These fundings have connected more teams and promoted the development of various crypto projects. Whether Ethereum itself or Vitalik's work has been about laying the foundation for crypto.

Neither Ethereum nor Vitalik should bear the confusion and anger of people about the industry's lack of innovation.

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

Those in the crypto community who are confused and angry will also make a choice after looking into their hearts: either stay and become a "builder", patiently creating something new in the barren landscape, or leave and chase the next trend as a shrewd "speculator".