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Ethereum Founder Interview: Not Optimistic about Bitcoin DeFi, Facebook is Already Marginalized, Ethereum Running Metaverse in Five Years

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Ethereum Founder Interview: Not Optimistic about Bitcoin DeFi, Facebook is Already Marginalized, Ethereum Running Metaverse in Five Years

Ethereum's founder expressed a negative attitude towards the future strategies of the founders of the two major social platforms in a recent interview, including Mark Zuckerberg's strong promotion of the metaverse and Jack Dorsey's previously announced development of a "Bitcoin DeFi platform." As for Ethereum, he hopes to operate in the metaverse in the next five to ten years.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin revealed his views on crypto skeptics, Jack Dorsey, and Mark Zuckerberg's related strategies in an interview with Bloomberg.

Views on skeptics like Buffett and Jamie Dimon?

Many of them are absolutely wrong. They expect many cryptocurrencies to fail and go to zero, like in 2013 and 2015, and people will lose interest. However, many projects have been far more successful than these skeptics imagine.

I can understand why many traditional finance professionals tend to deny blockchain-based financial systems, even though they see the value of blockchain in traditional banks.

Jack Dorsey's Bitcoin DeFi Platform

I am skeptical about building DeFi on projects like Bitcoin. Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum's native functionality allows you to directly deposit Ether or Ethereum-based assets into smart contracts, store them in a closed box, and automatically transfer these assets with custom conditions.

Bitcoin does not have this functionality. Essentially, Jack is trying to build his system by introducing these features, and the use of these features may be controlled by a Bitcoin multi-signature wallet, which may be managed by Jack or other system participants.

This looks similar to Ethereum's DeFi, but it will ultimately be a weaker trust model. This is also why Ethereum was launched as an independent system initially; not doing so would have many technical limitations in developing new features.

Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse

Mark Zuckerberg is clearly trying to predict the next stage of internet development, but the development trends in the real world are somewhat different, and Facebook seems to be marginalized, a company of the previous generation.

We also see Facebook trying to enter the crypto field with its stablecoin project Libra, now renamed Diem, but I think this may ultimately be a wrong move.

The main problem Facebook faces is a significant lack of trust. I understand they are working hard to create a platform different from their competitors, but that is not enough because there is too much skepticism among the public towards them.

The concept of the metaverse has become popular due to the COVID-19 pandemic, where people can quickly transition from a real-life dominant world to a virtual network dominant world. The key issue for adoption is the quality of the virtual world.

The Future Development of Bitcoin, Replacing the Dollar?

I think it is unlikely for Bitcoin to replace the dollar. The dollar provides price stability, and even if the dollar collapses, I don't think Bitcoin can provide the price stability that the public and businesses need. In the event of a dollar collapse, what we might need is decentralized stablecoins, but it could also be another currency.

Lastly, Vitalik Buterin believes that cryptocurrencies will continue to play a strong and important role in the current monetary system. When asked where Ethereum will be in five to ten years, he said, "I hope it will be running the metaverse by then."