Updated on:11/27/2025 07:05 PM 
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes the protocol is poised to play a pivotal role in the future of finance, especially amid mounting global inflation and unprecedented monetary policies from central banks. His insights come at a time of growing economic uncertainty worldwide.
On May 7, Buterin spoke with The Defiant founder Camila Russo during a podcast as part of the Ethereal Virtual Summit. The event also featured other prominent figures like Changpeng Zhao, Mike Novogratz, and Joseph Lubin, who discussed various aspects of the cryptocurrency landscape.
Buterin highlighted that the current pandemic and other global emergencies are more severe than past economic crises, citing the heightened level of political discord and distrust between global superpowers, such as the ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions.
The 26-year-old visionary suggested that blockchain technology can serve as a "neutral global infrastructure" for existing political and financial systems. It creates a resilient, shared network for technology, value, and data that nation-states cannot easily shut down.
When Russo asked if Ethereum, as a global settlement layer, represented Buterin's vision for a unified world economy, he agreed, calling ETH the "cement" of such a system. The features of a decentralized and permissionless network like Ethereum, he argued, are precisely what's needed in these turbulent times.
Buterin pointed to rising concerns about personal privacy, widespread surveillance, and general distrust in [financial] institutions as key factors driving a broader movement toward digital assets and decentralized technology.
Buterin believes the current crisis is a hybrid, sharing little in common with the 2008 financial meltdown. This time, he indicated, other "non-financial problems"—including controversial monetary aid, flawed policy responses, and biased regulations—are creating a litmus test for what cryptocurrencies and smart contracts can truly offer.
He stated:
"For the first decade or so, it was really focused on the financial aspects—the state’s resistance to money. But here in 2020, we're definitely seeing a lot of the same themes, but it's somewhat less financial than before."
Regarding the highly anticipated Ethereum 2.0, codenamed "Serenity," Buterin explained that the current ETH 1.0 chain, "as it exists today," will function as an independent "shard" within the new network.
"Ethereum as it exists today (eth1) will be its own separate shard on the eth2 network" – @VitalikButerin #EtherealVirtual
Live chat with Vitalik and @CamiRusso happening now!https://t.co/jYWpmWWEyp pic.twitter.com/Vnywj6o6YI
— Ethereal Summit (@EtherealSummit) May 7, 2020
Buterin noted that different shards running various applications will interact with each other asynchronously, adding that "some dApps and primitives are designed this way and don't need fast syncing."
When questioned about the immense risks involved in scaling the protocol, Buterin said that technical challenges are a more significant concern than any "consensus or political" setbacks.
Concluding, Buterin was highly optimistic about the transition from ETH 1.0 to 2.0, comparing the current progress to where Ethereum was just a few months prior to its launch in 2015.
