Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin made a profit of $70,000 on the prediction platform Polymarket. He shared this during a meeting with the crypto community in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Buterin started with a capital of $440,000. His strategy involves identifying markets driven by "madness." He bets against events that are irrationally overvalued due to fear or hype. For example, he mentioned bets on Donald Trump winning the Nobel Prize or the collapse of the dollar.
The Gap Between Technology and Product
Buterin emphasized that the infrastructure is ready for mass adoption: the gas limit has increased to 60 million, zkEVM has been implemented, and wallets have 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 noted.
He cited the launch of a token by U.S. President Donald Trump as an example of greed that undermines the value of original assets.
Deadlock in SocialFi
Buterin expressed skepticism about the current state of decentralized social networks. He believes that direct monetization of communication leads to the degradation of platforms: users generate spam for profit instead of creating quality content.
He pointed to the Farcaster protocol, which shifted its 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 crossbreeding" of artificial intelligence and blockchain. He sees Ethereum's main role in the age of neural networks as becoming 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 determine methods for achieving goals.
- DeSoc — social networks where users own their connection graphs.
Buterin stated that his main motivation is to prevent the industry from turning into a "casino" where speculation is the only focus.
Recall that in January, the Ethereum founder announced that he would fully return to using decentralized social networks by 2026.