Vitalik Buterin Pushes for ETH-Focused Strategies to Strengthen Ethereum Ecosystem

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has called for increased emphasis on ether (ETH) in Ethereum’s scaling and application plans to enhance the asset’s value and utility within the broader ecosystem. Buterin outlined his proposals in a detailed blog post on Friday, urging the community to align efforts to solidify ETH’s role in both Layer 1 and Layer 2 (L1 and L2) networks.

“We need a multi-faceted approach to establish ETH as a triple-point asset, covering all major use cases,” Buterin wrote. He advocated for policies that promote ETH as the primary collateral for decentralized applications and ensure it remains central to Ethereum’s economy.

Among his suggestions, Buterin proposed that Layer 2 networks allocate part of their transaction fees to ETH through mechanisms like fee burning, permanent staking, or contributions to public goods that support the Ethereum network.

The comments come as ETH faces increased competition in the market. The ether-bitcoin ratio has dropped to levels last seen in 2021, with Bitcoin recently hitting a record high of $109,000, yielding a 160% gain over the past year. Meanwhile, ETH has risen only 40% during the same period and is trading 30% below its all-time high, according to CoinDesk data.

Buterin also highlighted Ethereum’s blobs as a potential source of additional revenue. He suggested increasing blob counts and introducing a minimum blob fee. “If blob usage trends persist, with an average fee and count increase to 128, Ethereum could burn 713,000 ETH annually,” he explained. However, he noted that such a demand curve isn’t guaranteed and should complement, not replace, other strategies.

Blobs are a unique transaction type with additional attached data but occupy mainnet space only temporarily, remaining accessible for 18 days. Blob usage has reached record levels, with daily averages hitting 21,000 blobs since November. Layer 2 networks like Coinbase’s BASE and World Chain account for 55% of this activity, underscoring their role in Ethereum’s scaling efforts.

Buterin’s proposals aim to position ETH as the backbone of the Ethereum ecosystem, leveraging innovations in Layer 2 scaling and revenue generation to secure its long-term value and competitiveness in the evolving crypto market.