Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin earned a profit of $70,000 on the prediction platform Polymarket. He shared this during a meeting with the crypto community in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The developer’s initial capital was $440,000. Buterin’s strategy involves identifying markets gripped by “madness.” He bets against events whose probabilities are irrationally inflated due to fear or hype. As examples, he cited bets on a Nobel Prize for Donald Trump or the collapse of the dollar.
The Gap Between Technology and Product
Buterin emphasized that the infrastructure is already prepared for mass adoption: the gas limit has increased to 60 million, zkEVM has been implemented, and wallets have been improved.
However, the industry has strayed from the goals set 5-10 years ago. Instead of a “decentralized Uber,” the market has focused on speculative meme coins.
“Technical development has been successful. But in the application layer, I see problems. People have forgotten about creating applications that truly change social interaction,” Buterin emphasized.
He cited the launch of a token by U.S. President Donald Trump as an example, calling it a manifestation of greed that destroys the value of original assets.
The Dead End of SocialFi
Buterin expressed skepticism about the current state of decentralized social networks. In his view, direct monetization of communication leads to platform degradation: users generate spam for profit instead of creating quality content.
He pointed to the Farcaster protocol, which shifted focus from social mechanics to wallet creation. The project team realized that financial tools are more effective for mass adoption than direct competition with X.
AI and the Future of Ethereum
Buterin warned against the “artificial merging” of artificial intelligence and blockchain. Ethereum’s primary role in the era of neural networks is to become the financial layer for AI agents. Robots need money to perform tasks, and a crypto wallet is the only solution.
Among the priority areas for ecosystem development, he highlighted:
- Decentralized stablecoins, pegged not to fiat but to the consumer price index (CPI).
- Smart DAOs, using prediction markets to choose methods for achieving goals.
- DeSoc — social networks where users own their connection graphs.
Buterin cited his main motivation as the desire to prevent the industry from becoming a “casino” with nothing but speculation.
Back in January, the Ethereum founder announced that by 2026 he would fully return to using decentralized social networks.