- Buterin praised Railgun and Polymarket for aligning with Ethereum’s social values while criticizing applications like Pumpdotfun as gambling platforms.
- According to Buterin, Ethereum applications carry more responsibility for societal impact compared to foundational changes such as proof-of-stake implementation.
Vitalik Buterin recently addressed developers, calling for greater emphasis on projects with genuine social impact. In his statement via Warpcast, Buterin argued that Ethereum-based applications must embody socially beneficial principles rather than purely technical advancements.
Currently, Ethereum faces increased competition from rival blockchains such as Solana and Avalanche. Buterin’s comments arrive at a moment when Ethereum’s market share remains challenged by these alternative networks.
The Ethereum co-founder highlighted examples of applications he approves, mentioning Railgun, a protocol promoting user privacy, and Polymarket, a decentralized prediction platform. Conversely, he expressed disapproval of projects like Pumpdotfun, which he labeled as gambling operations, also reminding developers of risks like those exemplified by the collapse of FTX exchange.
Buterin distinguished between the platform’s underlying technology—Layer 1—and the decentralized applications built upon it. According to him, the foundational technology of Ethereum involves philosophical decisions, such as transitioning to proof-of-stake and enabling light client functionality.
However, Buterin assigned greater ideological responsibility to application developers, estimating their influence on Ethereum’s social purpose at approximately 80%, compared to about 50% for the base layer itself.
Buterin said clearly that the kind of applications developers choose to build reflects their broader beliefs regarding Ethereum’s global role. While technical improvements such as the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) evolve regardless of ideological stance, applications directly illustrate how developers perceive the network’s social value.
Ethereum currently experiences lower user activity compared to previous years, indicating a possible slowing of interest or engagement. Under these circumstances, Buterin’s call to realign priorities towards socially meaningful projects might become a decisive factor in guiding the network’s future direction.

Ethereum (ETH) is currently trading at $1,656.20, showing a healthy 3.72% daily gain, as it rebounds from a multi-week downtrend. While the asset remains 50.32% down year-to-date, this recent push above key resistance levels at $1,550 and $1,580 signals a short-term bullish shift. The bounce comes amid rising volume, improved sentiment, and technical signals pointing to a potential reversal structure forming above the $1,600 base.
Ethereum is now approaching the $1,700 resistance, and a sustained move above this level would confirm strength for a potential rally toward the $1,770–$1,850 zone, which aligns with historical Fibonacci retracement levels and a CME gap.
Exact Price Prediction: With continued volume support and confirmation above $1,650, Ethereum is forecast to reach $1,745 within the next 4 days, assuming no major market retracements interrupt the current breakout.