Vitalik Buterin on Ethereum Google Moment With Low-risk DeFi

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently voiced his opinion about the future of the network, noting that it does not lie with Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) or memecoins. In his opinion, it is in low-risk Decentralized Finance (DeFi), which is far simpler than memecoins or digital collectibles.

Ethereum Needs No Hype

In a new essay, Vitalik Buterin predicted Ethereum’s Google moment with low-risk DeFi. He likened this to how Google made most of its income from search, and this ends up powering every other service around the internet giant. Buterin was attempting to establish that Ethereum hardly needs any hype cycles to survive.

In his own words, “Low-risk defi can be for Ethereum what search was for Google.”

Going forward, the Ethereum network requires a solid foundation of payment systems and savings accounts. 

This is in addition to collateralized lending and synthetic assets that have the capacity to stand the test of time. Over time, these tools have proven to be trustworthy enough to keep ETH locked up and also ensure that fees are flowing.

Comparing TradFi and DeFi in Ethereum 

It is worth noting that the Ethereum ecosystem has seen some improvements in the last few years. 

Six years ago, losses drawn from Ethereum DeFi summed up to over 5% of the Total Value Locked (TVL). Fast forward to the present day, and the figure has now reduced to almost nothing. 

In the same vein, protocols are now safer with fewer risks, while DeFi’s wild edges have departed further away from the core. On this premise, Buterin noted that the risks in Traditional Finance (TradFi) have now exceeded those in DeFi. 

Fusaka Upgrade on Ethereum 

Meanwhile, Ethereum developers are working on the coming rollout of the Fusaka upgrade. 

During one of the ACDC Ethereum developer calls, the network’s developers noted that the upgrade is scheduled to go live on the mainnet on December 3. They shared their plans for Fusaka, outlining the testing phases and the features expected from this new hard fork.

At this time, it is regarded as a major milestone for Ethereum. Fusaka upgrade will be phased, with the first stage being Holesky, to go live on October 1. Next will be Sepolia, which will start on October 14, and finally, Hoodi on October 28. The devs plan to test the upgrade on several networks before it goes live on Ethereum’s mainnet.