Buterin: ETH Will Be Worthless Unless Protocol Changes

Ether Ethereum Scalability Vitalik Buterin
Journalist
Journalist
Sead Fadilpašić
About Author

Sead specializes in writing factual and informative articles to help the public navigate the ever-changing world of crypto. He has extensive experience in the blockchain industry, where he has served...

Last updated: 
Why Trust Cryptonews
Cryptonews has covered the cryptocurrency industry topics since 2017, aiming to provide informative insights to our readers. Our journalists and analysts have extensive experience in market analysis and blockchain technologies. We strive to maintain high editorial standards, focusing on factual accuracy and balanced reporting across all areas - from cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects to industry events, products, and technological developments. Our ongoing presence in the industry reflects our commitment to delivering relevant information in the evolving world of digital assets. Read more about Cryptonews

In response to claims that the Ether (ETH) cryptocurrency is headed for collapse unless the protocol changes, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin agrees for now.

Vitalik Buterin. Source: a video screenshot.

“In Ethereum as it presently exists, this is absolutely true, and in fact if Ethereum were not to change, all parts of the author’s argument […] would be correct,” Buterin wrote in a Reddit post.

Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Jeremy Rubin made his claims in an article on TechCrunch. In his opinion, Ethereum has problems with scaling and smart contract security that will cause it to lag behind competitors, inevitably leading to a collapse by “economic abstraction.”

Economic abstraction means that the payment of fees (Gas) will happen in a token that is not native to the Ethereum network. Instead of paying gas in ETH, the owner of a smart contract would pay in the token native to their contract, likely based on the ERC-20 standard. This could make ETH redundant and decrease its value by extension.

Buterin argues that Ethereum can survive by being able to evolve and develop. He adds that the Ethereum community is considering two proposals, which could boost ETH at a native protocol level. This means that ETH would be required to pay Gas. In doing so this creates a structure by which the “the equilibrium value of ETH in this scenario […] is very much nonzero,” Buterin states on Reddit.

However, the community isn’t too worried. “Isn’t it better to recognize what’s wrong than living in the illusion that everything is going great? He seems humble enough to recognize what’s wrong with [his] own project,” says Reddit user u/Alzerion. Others are taking the funny approach to his reply: u/danielkoala writes, “I understand some of these words. Hmpm.”

Still, Ethereum is already looking into ways to solve its problems. Buterin’s previous tweetstorm – comprised of a whopping 75 tweets – explains the history of the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus and roadmap for Casper, a new PoS model. This effort is now referred to as Ethereum 2.0, and is speculated to be the answer Ethereum needs in terms of scaling. However, Buterin concluded the tweetstorm by saying that there is no formal timeline for its implementation, which could mean a prolonged period of uncertainty for Ethereum.

Ether price chart:

Logo

Why Trust Cryptonews

2M+
Active Monthly Users Around the World
250+
Guides and Reviews Articles
8
Years on the Market
70
International Team Authors
editors
+ 66 More

Best Crypto ICOs

Discover trending tokens still in presale — early-stage picks with potential

Explore Our Tools

Smart tools made for everyday crypto users

Market Overview

  • 7d
  • 1m
  • 1y
Market Cap
$3,393,289,209,745
-4.27
Trending Crypto

More Articles

Crypto Regulation News
US Senate Passes First Major Stablecoin Regulation Bill — Here’s What Happens Next
Shalini Nagarajan
Shalini Nagarajan
2025-06-18 03:36:47
Blockchain News
Russian Authorities Discover 30,000sqm Illegal Crypto Mining Farm in Industrial Plant
Tim Alper
Tim Alper
2025-06-17 23:30:00
Crypto News in numbers
editors
Authors List + 66 More
2M+
Active Monthly Users Around the World
250+
Guides and Reviews Articles
8
Years on the Market
70
International Team Authors