Vitalik Buterin embraces ‘low-risk DeFi’ as key Ethereum revenue driver

Core Insights - Ethereum has struggled with generating sustainable revenue beyond speculative trading, relying heavily on memecoins, NFTs, and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, which have not provided a solid foundation for its nearly $100 billion DeFi economy [1][4] - Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, suggests that "low-risk DeFi" activities such as payments, savings, and collateralized lending could serve as a significant revenue engine for the network [2] - Buterin emphasizes the importance of non-financial and experimental applications for Ethereum's cultural role, indicating a shift from viewing DeFi primarily as a source of high yields from risky investments [3][4] DeFi Market Dynamics - The supply of stablecoins on Ethereum has surged by 700% since the beginning of 2021, reaching over $160 billion, while tokenized real-world assets like US Treasuries have expanded to a $9 billion market [4] - Tom Lee from BitMine describes stablecoins as the "ChatGPT" of crypto, positioning Ethereum as the backbone of this growth due to its legal recognition and reliability [5] Current Market Status - As of the latest data, Bitcoin is trading at $115,440, down 0.4% in the past 24 hours, while Ethereum is at $4,472, down 0.3% [6]