The year-end roundup is maybe an understatement. In a rightfully called ‘mini-tweetstorm’, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the Ethereum network, reevaluated some of the predictions and opinions he divulged in the past decade.
Happy new year!
Today, a mini-tweetstorm of some of the things I've said and written over the past decade, and what I think about those subjects today.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
In a series of tweets, Buterin broached various subjects concerning the industry, including stablecoins, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum scaling, and the rise of the crypto industry in Argentina. Of the various topics, the Ethereum co-founder, who was previously an “apologist” for PoW, said he now champions the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. He said in a tweet:
“In 2012, I was briefly an apologist for PoW energy waste. Though fortunately, by 2013 I got excited about proof of stake as a promising alternative. By 2014, I was sold.”
Buterin inserted a 2014 blog post where he gave several economic reasons that justified the economic efficiency of PoS over the PoW consensus model.
Ethereum recently became infamous for its excessive gas fees that came with the rapid adoption of the network. Touching upon the topic, the co-founder also mentioned his team is working round the clock to improve the network’s scalability, doubling down on his comment that “the internet of money should not cost more than 5 cents per transaction”.
Calling Bitcoin Cash ‘mostly a failure’ was probably the most scathing prognosis Buterin made in his ‘tweetstorm’. Although he was a supporter of Bitcoin Cash owing to the community’s intentions and its arguments on the ideal block size, he now massively disagrees with his past opinion. Buterin noted:
“Today, I would call BCH mostly a failure. My main takeaway: communities formed around a rebellion, even if they have a good cause, often have a hard time long term, because they value bravery over competence and are united around resistance rather than a coherent way forward.”
