In the ever-evolving world of blockchain and cryptocurrency, few voices carry as much weight as Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum. Recently, Buterin reignited optimism within the Ethereum community by pushing back against bearish sentiment and reaffirming his confidence in the network’s long-term strength. Amid market downturns and growing skepticism, his message is clear: Ethereum is not weakening—it's getting stronger.
Ethereum’s Fundamentals Are “Crazy Strong,” Says Buterin
Vitalik Buterin has long been known for his deep philosophical takes on decentralization, governance, and the future of digital societies. However, in a recent shift, he acknowledged that his followers have been urging him to focus less on theory and more on promoting Ethereum’s progress.
“Less philosophizing, more Ethereum bull posting,” one follower remarked—prompting Buterin to respond with concrete optimism about the network’s current state.
This subtle tone shift sparked speculation online, with some joking that Buterin might have sold his X (formerly Twitter) account due to the change in content style. Yet, the intent behind his posts remains consistent: to defend Ethereum’s fundamentals in the face of criticism.
When a trader questioned Ethereum’s resilience—citing Layer-1 and Layer-2 projects nearing bankruptcy and investors losing up to 80% of their value—Buterin pushed back firmly.
👉 Discover how Ethereum continues to lead despite market challenges.
His response was direct: “Ethereum has gotten stronger.” He pointed to key indicators such as transaction fees on Layer-2 solutions now costing less than $0.01, highlighting Arbitrum and Optimism as successful examples of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible chains reaching maturity.
Buterin emphasized that Ethereum’s core metrics—network usage, developer activity, and ecosystem innovation—are all trending positively. “The fundamentals for Ethereum are crazy strong right now,” he stated, reinforcing a bullish outlook even during broader crypto market lulls.
Why Critics Are Wrong About Ethereum’s Decline
While Buterin remains confident, skepticism persists. Ignas, co-founder of DeFi studio Pink Brains, acknowledges that it's easy to feel bearish about Ethereum when comparing its price performance to assets like Solana (SOL) and Bitcoin (BTC). Over the past year, both have outperformed ETH in certain market cycles, fueling narratives of Ethereum losing relevance.
However, Ignas argues that such views overlook the bigger picture. He believes that Ethereum’s upcoming upgrades, particularly the Pectra Upgrade, could serve as a powerful bullish catalyst. These technical advancements may reignite investor interest and shift sentiment back in Ethereum’s favor.
The Pectra Upgrade: What’s Coming in 2025?
Scheduled for Q1 2025, the Pectra Upgrade is a major hard fork combining the previously separate Prague and Electra upgrades. Its goal? To enhance both the execution layer (where transactions are processed) and the consensus layer (which secures the network).
Key improvements include:
- Increased staking limits, allowing more participants to run validators.
- PeerDAS and rollup enhancements, improving data availability for Layer-2 networks.
- EVM upgrades, boosting efficiency and developer flexibility.
To ensure stability, developers decided to delay Pectra until after Devcon in November 2024. This cautious approach reflects lessons learned from past upgrades—prioritizing security over speed.
But Pectra isn’t the only major development on the horizon.
Verkle Trees: A Game-Changer for Ethereum Scalability
Vitalik Buterin has also expressed excitement about the ongoing development of Verkle trees, another pivotal upgrade expected in 2025. Unlike Merkle trees used today, Verkle trees allow for stateless validator clients, meaning nodes can verify transactions without storing the entire blockchain state.
“I’m looking forward to Verkle trees,” Buterin shared. “They will enable staking nodes to run with near-zero hard disk space and sync nearly instantly—far better solo staking UX.”
This advancement could drastically lower the barrier to entry for individual stakers and improve the performance of light clients used in wallets and mobile apps. In practical terms, it means faster synchronization, reduced hardware requirements, and greater decentralization.
👉 See how next-gen upgrades are transforming Ethereum’s future.
Addressing Ethereum’s Inflation Concerns
Despite technological progress, one concern has emerged: Ethereum’s shift from deflationary to inflationary supply dynamics.
After the successful Dencun upgrade in March 2024—which combined Deneb and Cancun updates to reduce L2 transaction costs—on-chain activity dipped significantly. As a result, ETH burn rates slowed, leading to a net increase in supply.
According to data from ultrasound.money, Ethereum is now experiencing its longest inflationary period since transitioning to Proof-of-Stake (PoS). The current annual inflation rate sits around 0.72%, with over 228,000 new ETH added to circulation since April 2024.
Blockchain analyst EmberCN noted:
“Due to low gas prices—often below 2 Gwei—the total ETH supply has risen from 120,063,605 to 120,291,622 in just four and a half months.”
This trend challenges the “ultra-sound money” narrative that once framed ETH as a deflationary asset. However, many experts argue this is temporary. Lower fees have made L2s more accessible, driving user adoption even if it reduces short-term burns.
FAQs: Your Ethereum Questions Answered
Is Ethereum still deflationary?
No—since the Dencun upgrade, Ethereum has entered an inflationary phase due to reduced gas usage and lower ETH burning. However, future upgrades may rebalance this dynamic as network activity increases.
What is the Pectra Upgrade?
Pectra is a planned 2025 hard fork combining Prague and Electra upgrades. It aims to improve staking scalability, data availability for rollups, and EVM functionality.
How do Verkle trees benefit Ethereum?
Verkle trees enable stateless clients, allowing validators to operate with minimal storage and sync almost instantly—boosting decentralization and accessibility.
Why are Layer-2 fees so low now?
Thanks to Dencun’s proto-danksharding implementation, L2s can post data more efficiently on Ethereum, reducing costs to under $0.01 per transaction.
Can Ethereum regain its deflationary status?
Yes—if on-chain activity surges again (e.g., from DeFi, NFTs, or new use cases), gas demand could rise, increasing ETH burns and restoring deflation.
Is now a good time to invest in Ethereum?
Many analysts believe upcoming upgrades like Pectra and Verkle trees could drive long-term value. While short-term price movements depend on market conditions, Ethereum’s technological roadmap remains robust.
👉 Explore Ethereum’s potential before the next major upgrade cycle.
Final Thoughts: Strength Beyond Price
Vitalik Buterin’s recent defense of Ethereum reminds us that true network strength lies not just in price charts but in technical resilience, developer momentum, and ecosystem innovation. While bearish narratives focus on short-term underperformance or inflation trends, the foundational work continues—quietly building a more scalable, secure, and decentralized future.
With upgrades like Pectra and Verkle trees on the horizon, Ethereum is positioning itself not just to survive the bear market—but to emerge stronger than ever.
Core Keywords: Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, Pectra Upgrade, Layer-2 solutions, Verkle trees, ETH staking, blockchain scalability, Proof-of-Stake