Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has raised concerns regarding the strategies employed by crypto projects to engage users. He emphasized the importance of building practical applications instead of simply trying to buy user interest.
Buterin shared his thoughts on Twitter, stating:
"My first reaction to this was: 'And that's why I just got my $2,725 check of fileverse tokens now that fileverse has grown to the point where my dad regularly writes docs in fileverse that he sends to me.'"
He pointed out that while financial incentives can be appropriate during the initial phases of a project—when it is still developing—these should decrease as the protocol matures. Buterin cautioned against attracting users who are primarily motivated by rewards, as they often lack long-term commitment and will leave once the incentives are removed.
Illustrating Good and Bad Practices
Buterin highlighted liquidity rewards in decentralized finance (DeFi) as a justifiable incentive, compensating early adopters for the inherent risks involved in new projects. Conversely, he criticized payments for social media engagement, describing them as detrimental. This tactic tends to attract users more interested in exploiting the system for profit than in contributing to a genuine community.
