Vitalik Buterin emphasized the significance of the declining transaction fees within the Ethereum ecosystem before reflecting on some of the most iconic crypto-themed songs from the past.
Speaking about the crypto industry’s evolution, Buterin noted that the previously high transaction fees were among the main challenges of mainstream adoption.
However, transaction fees on Ethereum layer-2 (L2) networks have gone down to “basically zero,” marking a significant milestone for crypto, according to Buterin, who said during his speech at Token 2049 in Singapore:
“From being somewhere between $10 and $0.50 to being under $0.01, basically zero. At the same time, Optimism and Arbitrum, two major Ethereum layer twos, have hit this important security milestone… So rollups are rapidly becoming safer and rollups are finally affordable.”
Vitalik Buterin, Token 2049, Singapore. Source: Cointelegraph
Ethereum gas fees, or transaction fees, previously skyrocketed to over $200 for high-priority transactions during peak network congestion. L2 networks are essential for making the Ethereum mainnet cheaper and more scalable by offloading some of the transactions from the mainnet to the secondary chain.
In the past, Buterin said he was forced to pay over $800 in gas fees for a single privacy-preserving transaction.
Buterin highlights improved Ethereum confirmation times, recounts crypto theme songs
Beyond the decreasing L2 transaction fees that make crypto more usable for day-to-day transactions, Ethereum’s confirmation time also saw a significant improvement.
Ethereum’s transaction confirmation time saw a significant improvement thanks to the Merge, which transitioned Ethereum to a proof-of-stake network in September 2022.
Buterin explained:
“One of the things that the merge did is it also cut in half the average waiting time until the next block. And so with both of those things, actually these days I quietly have my transactions confirmed in 5 to 15 seconds.”
To the delight of crypto enthusiasts, Buterin also took a moment to reflect on some of the most iconic anthems from past crypto projects.
To the delight of the audience, Buterin went on to recount some "cringe" anthems for crypto projects: pic.twitter.com/9FEcyvzLJc
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) September 18, 2024
Vitalik Buterin, crypto anthems, Token 2049. Source: Cointelegraph
Crypto industry needs to satisfy mainstream needs and maintain decentralization
Looking forward, Buterin noted that the industry needs to cater to the needs of mainstream users while upholding the ethos of decentralization.
Buterin noted that we need to strive for both industry practicality while maintaining decentralization:
“We need to satisfy the needs of mainstream adoption, and we need to hold on to open source and decentralization values, at the same time.”
Finally, Buterin urged industry participants to strive for practical solutions that facilitate the next wave of mass adoption without sacrificing the industry’s inherent decentralization.
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