In the last decade, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin reviewed his predictions made over the years, showing his ability to hit abstract ideas rather than production software development issues.
Buterin started the thread from Twitter addressing his article of July 23, 2013 in which he highlighted the main advantages of Bitcoin (BTC): internationality and resistance to censorship. Buterin envisioned the potential of Bitcoin to protect the purchasing power of citizens in Iran, Argentina, China and Africa.
However, Buterin also saw an increase in stablecoin adoption seeing that Argentine companies operated in Tether (USDT). He endorsed his ideas from a decade ago on the negative impacts of Bitcoin regulation.
My views today: sure, Bitcoin’s decentralization would let it still * survive * under a super-hostile regulatory climate, but it could not * thrive *. Successful censorship resistance strategy requires a combination of technological robustness and public legitimacy.
– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
My point of view today: Sure, Bitcoin’s decentralization would allow it to * survive * under a super hostile regulatory climate, but it couldn’t * thrive *. A successful strategy to resist censorship requires a combination of technological soundness and public legitimacy.
The employer continues to consider that “the internet of money shouldn’t cost more than 5 cents per transaction“and highlighted Ethereum’s continued efforts to improve the scalability capabilities of the blockchain.
5. I should also add that the core * idea * of sharding has survived unscathed.
Blockchain 1.0: each node downloads everything, have consensus
BitTorrent: each node downloads only a few things, but no consensus
Ideal: BitTorrent-like efficiency but with blockchain-like consensus– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
5. I must also add that the * core * idea of fragmentation has survived intact.
Blockchain 1.0: each node downloads everything, has consensus
BitTorrent: each node downloads only a few things, but there is no consensus
Ideal: efficiency similar to that of BitTorrent but with consensus similar to that of blockchain
“I liked altcoins before they were cool“Buterin added, citing an article in which he based this claim on three arguments: different chains optimize for different goals, the costs of having many chains are low and the need for an alternative in case the main development team gets it wrong.
On the other hand, Buterin retracted its support for Bitcoin Cash (BCH), stating that Communities formed around a rebellion, even if they have a good cause, often have long-term difficulties, adding that “they value bravery more than competition and unite around endurance rather than a coherent path.”
11. Applications envisioned in the Ethereum whitepaper: https: //t.co/6HCoO2CSW8
* ERC20-style tokens
* Algorithmic stablecoins
* Domain name systems (like ENS)
* Decentralized file storage and computing
* DAOs
* Wallets with withdrawal limits
* Oracles
* Prediction markets– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2022
11. Applications provided in the Ethereum whitepaper:
* ERC20 style tokens
* Algorithmic Stablecoins
* Domain name systems (such as ENS)
* Decentralized computing and file storage
* DAO
* Wallets with withdrawal limits
* Oracles
* Prediction markets
I got a lot right (I basically predicted ‘DeFi’), although incentivized file storage + compute hasn’t really taken off that much (yet?), And of course I completely missed the NFTs. “
In conclusion, Buterin supported instincts that helped him correct mistakes early on, stating that: “When it comes to technology, I got hit more often on abstract ideas than on production software development problems. I had to learn to understand the latter over time.”
In early December, Buterin shared his vision of a “plausible roadmap” for ETH 2.0, suggesting “a second level of staking, with low resource requirements” for distributed block validation.
What’s more, proposed the introduction of fraud-proof ZK-SNARKS which can serve as a cheaper alternative for users to check the validity of blocks. According to Buterin.
“[Con estas actualizaciones] We got a chain where block production is still centralized, but block validation is trustless and highly decentralized, and specialized anti-censorship magic prevents block producers from censoring. “
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