Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum $3,122, stated that the Ethereum ecosystem can evolve while maintaining decentralization and collaboration. He emphasized that the ecosystem’s strength relies on a broad developer community working together.
Decentralization and Collaboration
Buterin expressed the challenges in ensuring that projects within the ecosystem can function harmoniously. “The fundamental challenge is to ensure that all projects build something that feels like a single Ethereum ecosystem,” he noted.
“The fundamental challenge is to ensure that all projects build something that feels like a single Ethereum ecosystem.”
He argued that the alignment in Ethereum should encompass values and ideals, technology, and economy. As for values alignment, he highlighted the importance of open-source nature, minimizing centralization, and supporting public goods. Regarding technological alignment, he stressed working with standards across the ecosystem, while economic alignment should involve the use of ETH as a token whenever possible.
Commitment to Open Source and Standards
Buterin explained two critical reasons for being open source. “This allows the code to be audited for security and reduces the risk of proprietary lock-in, enabling permissionless third-party improvements,” he stated. He emphasized that core infrastructure components must be completely open source.
“If you want to introduce a new feature that existing standards don’t adequately address, write a new ERC in collaboration with others. Applications and wallets can be assessed based on compatibility with ERCs.”
He also pointed out the importance of considering decentralization and resilience in education and security, urging application ecosystem developers to avoid points of trust and censorship vulnerabilities. Buterin stressed that projects must contribute positively to the Ethereum community and the world.
“Ethereum exists to make the world a freer and more open place, enabling new forms of ownership and collaboration.”
In conclusion, the Ethereum co-founder stated that projects should develop applications that offer sustainable value, building technologies that can also be utilized outside of cryptocurrency, resulting in tangible benefits in areas like finance and security.