From a genius teenager to a controversial figure, the evaluation of Vitalik in the crypto market is overly harsh.

Vitalik has been absent from social media for over 20 days recently. During this period, the price of Ethereum has repeatedly fallen below investors' psychological barriers. On March 12, the ETH/BTC exchange rate dropped to 0.022676, hitting a new low since June 2020. The ETH/BTC exchange rate continues to decline, early investors are fleeing, retail investors are panicking, and negative sentiment is spreading.

In February, a debate erupted within the Ethereum community, demanding that Vitalik pay attention to current industry trends. In response to the criticism, Vitalik stated that he does not believe the current popular antagonistic model is the best product for blockchain, and he and Ethereum are committed to developing higher-quality products.

In the more than 20 days since Vitalik temporarily left the network, an executive from a trading platform has leveraged investment from institutions to spark a wave of on-chain meme coin frenzy on social media.

In this cycle, the meme coin sector is booming, competitive games are prevalent, and a frenzied speculative mood permeates the crypto community. In addition, a broader sense of confusion looms over the crypto community, and the true innovations that could lead the industry to thrive seem to have disappeared.

The industry is desolate, and meme coins have become the main narrative. People are starting to reminisce about the flourishing scene of DeFi on Ethereum in the summer of 2020.

From "God" to "Mortal"

In the past, people called him "V God" and regarded him as a spiritual leader, hoping he would guide the direction of encryption development. Nowadays, people call him "Little V" and even demand that he "get out" of Ethereum.

Vitalik recently became the focus of public opinion in early February. At that time, there was a flood of doubts about Ethereum within the community. In the face of various doubts, suggestions, and insults, Vitalik ultimately responded on social media, stating that he disagrees with the notion that the current adversarial model is the best product; what he pursues is a better product. Regarding the calls for innovation from the Ethereum Foundation, Vitalik also expressed fatigue towards those who have no idea about the internal workings of the foundation but still offer suggestions.

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

Groups often long for powerful leaders, urgently needing an object of worship that they can venerate, thus gaining psychological support and guidance. This drives them to idolize, infinitely amplifying the virtues of a particular individual and shaping an omnipotent "deity". Once this constructed "deity" fails to meet the overly high expectations of the public, the shift in group attitudes can be extremely rapid and brutal. They instantly transition from blind worship to fierce criticism, forcefully pushing the "deity" off the pedestal and expressing their disappointment and anger through insults and slander.

Vitalik has gone through a process of being both idolized and demonized by the crypto community. In the past, his remarks and thoughts pointed the way for the industry within the crypto community. Vitalik was keen to express various viewpoints, such as the concepts of SBT and network states from earlier years, which he either proposed or strongly supported. With his promotion, these new concepts once became hot topics in the industry, pursued and practiced by many project parties.

Especially during bear markets, major projects actively lay out tracks that may explode in bull markets. At that time, Vitalik was optimistic about Web3 social, and entrepreneurs flocked in, but the enthusiasm quickly faded.

The bull market is coming, but the directions that Vitalik "pointed out" during the bear market have not exploded on the application level. Chaos and confusion have become the feelings of most project teams.

There has been no real innovation and no new narrative to invigorate the industry, and the grandeur of the DeFi Summer that once occurred on Ethereum has not reappeared in the crypto market.

The infrastructure of blockchain has been completed, but there is a lack of products that can truly change human life or the world. What is the answer to this question?

If we talk about payment, Bitcoin provided the answer back in 2008; if we talk about DeFi, Ethereum gave the answer in 2020. The most practical application of encryption currency at present can be said to be stablecoins, which are truly changing the traditional world in areas such as cross-border payments.

In addition, is there any innovation in the blockchain industry? During this cycle, asset launch platforms on various chains have become popular, but this is merely an innovation in the way assets are issued, essentially still a gambling game dressed in new clothes. Another area of great interest is the blockchain AI sector, which has seen significant funding, but the bubble was quickly burst by emerging projects. The more prominent issue in this sector is that the narrative subject is still AI, and blockchain technology merely provides auxiliary functions for AI, rather than being a crypto native sector.

Beneath this desolation, speculative projects are instead regarded as the best products in the crypto market. Faced with many advising Vitalik and Ethereum to invest more in such projects, Vitalik refused, saying, "If I look within, I will find something worth fighting for."

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

Childhood passions shape future pursuits

The psychologist Jung once said: "When you were a child, whatever you did that made time fly and brought you joy, that answer is your pursuit in the world."

For Vitalik, the things worth fighting for have long been written in his childhood experiences. At the age of 4, he received a computer from his father. While other kids played games, he was obsessed with Excel software and soon was able to write automated calculation programs; at 7, he created a "Rabbit Encyclopedia" document filled with charts and mathematical formulas, later confirmed to have talent in mathematics and programming; by 10, his mental arithmetic speed was already twice that of his peers; at 11, he began studying subjects like mathematics, programming, and economics in a gifted 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 market, his attitude has always been relatively conservative.

In 2018, when Ethereum plummeted and faced skepticism from the community, Vitalik warned against letting Ethereum become a tool for speculators to profit. Just like back then, he also considered leaving Ethereum, "Should I drop ethereum and work for Google?"

Whenever the price of the coin is sluggish, doubts about Ethereum arise. In the face of community skepticism and insults, Vitalik always has the thought of "leaving".

Vitalik has always adhered to his beliefs. His commitment to technology and vigilance against "bubbles" has never changed. It is these坚持 that have brought transformation and innovation to the crypto world.

Looking back at the history of encryption development, important innovations that have pushed the industry forward have mostly occurred on Ethereum, known as the "world computer," over the past decade: the widespread adoption of smart contracts, providing a platform for innovative financial mechanisms like DeFi, developing various layer two solutions such as Rollups and Plasma, and practicing DAO governance models, among others.

Nowadays, more and more large institutions are building Web3 applications and infrastructure solutions on Ethereum. The Ethereum ecosystem is mature and leading in terms of technical resources, support from development teams, on-chain funding scale, and client security.

In addition, Vitalik not only realizes his technical ideals with Ethereum but also places his social ideals on it, which is not limited to Ethereum itself. The concepts he advocates, such as decentralization, resistance to censorship, and quadratic voting, involve democratic practices, internet structure, as well as commercial and public welfare organizations. This extends his influence beyond the crypto community.

The future of Ethereum is still worth looking forward to.

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 upgrade integrates changes to both the execution layer and the consensus layer, introducing 11 key improvement proposals aimed at enhancing scalability, staking flexibility, and user experience. Overall, this upgrade will improve network performance and stability on a technical level; alter the staking economic model on an economic level, affecting the supply and demand relationship and market prices of Ethereum; and attract more developers and users into the ecosystem on an application level, fostering innovation and development of decentralized applications.

In the United States, a stakable Ethereum spot ETF may also be approved. In the first quarter of 2025, an asset management company submitted an application on behalf of a certain exchange, planning to introduce staking features into its spot Ethereum ETF. Additionally, several financial institutions have also applied for staking features for the proposed Ethereum spot ETF.

The Pectra upgrade is expected to shorten the unbonding period for Ethereum staking, which is likely to act as a catalyst for the approval of staking ETFs.

It is widely believed in the industry that one major reason for the weak attractiveness of the current Ethereum spot ETF is the lack of staking functionality. The introduction of staking functionality will allow ETF holders to receive staking rewards, with an annualized return of around 3-3.5%. Once a stakeable Ethereum spot ETF is launched, it could significantly increase capital inflows, thereby boosting the price of Ethereum.

Both of these developments are foreseeable bullish factors for Ethereum prices this year.

However, another fact is that these anticipated changes are merely improvements along a foreseeable path. These enhancements only make the infrastructure more refined, rather than being disruptive industry innovations or groundbreaking product applications.

The use cases for Ethereum seem to have peaked. In this cycle, there have been no projects with widespread participation on the Ethereum main chain, and the price has not exceeded historical highs. Its total locked value remains at its highest point from 2021.

In the past, Ethereum was the preferred choice for building smart contract platforms. Today, with the improvement of blockchain infrastructure, more options have emerged. In this cycle, several public chains have developed their own ecological features. Leading Ethereum Layer 2 projects have also achieved impressive results.

Vitalik's decentralization is a good thing for the industry's development. As the industry matures, Ethereum no longer stands alone, and more up-and-coming players can compete with it, which helps to stimulate a richer ecosystem. With the establishment of a diverse blockchain ecosystem, Ethereum's importance in the industry will inevitably decline.

Vitalik once stated in an interview, "My life is about being a bridge for everything." Since 2015, the Ethereum Foundation has spent more on external grants than on internal operating expenses. These grants have allowed Ethereum to connect more teams and promote the development of various projects in the crypto market. Whether it is Ethereum itself or what Vitalik has done, it lays the foundation for the encryption industry.

Ethereum and Vitalik himself should not 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.

In the crypto community, those who are confused and angry will, after a deep introspection, make a choice: to stay and become "builders," creating new things in a desolate land, or to leave and chase the next trend, continuing to be a savvy "speculator."