Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently accepted an interview with Colin Wu, the founder of (Wu Says Blockchain), where he shared in fluent but non-native Chinese how he connected with the Chinese blockchain community, insights into the cultural differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum, and his expectations and challenges for the future of blockchain.
Wanxiang once saved Ethereum from crisis
Vitalik recalled his experience of coming to China for the first time in 2014, where he stayed for three weeks in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen, extensively interacting with Chinese miners, exchanges, and blockchain projects. He specifically mentioned that when the Ethereum Foundation faced a financial crisis in 2015, Wanxiang Group purchased 410,000 Ether at a price of $1.20 each, which provided the $500,000 needed to help the foundation through the crisis.
Additionally, he mentioned his deep memories of Bihu, praising the platform as an early innovative attempt in China to support content creators. Although the platform ultimately ceased operations, he believes that with the development of Layer 2 technology, the era of decentralized social media has arrived.
The Ideal and Failure of BCH Large Blocks
Regarding the reasons for the failure of the BCH large block route, Vitalik candidly stated that the supporters' technical implementation and execution were below expectations. He believes that the concept of large blocks is theoretically closer to user needs, but due to technical implementation errors, the community shifted to support Bitcoin with small blocks.
He pointed out that supporters of small blocks expect to achieve payment functionality through the Lightning Network, but this technology still faces issues of centralization and stability, failing to fully meet user needs. In contrast, Ethereum's development considers the practical implementation of applications and user needs more.
Bitcoin and Ethereum: The Wealthy and the Geeks
In Vitalik's observation, Bitcoin culture leans more towards the value of 'digital gold', while Ethereum attracts a community of developers focused on public goods. He mentioned that Bitcoin's early community was diverse and enthusiastic about civil debates, but with the splits and competition in 2014, many developers who preferred the early Ethereum culture chose Ethereum.
He believes that Ethereum is an open 'world computer' designed to support a diverse range of application scenarios, rather than merely pursuing price or market dominance.
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