Ethereum has long grappled with the challenge of generating sustainable revenue beyond the speculative cycles of token trading and leveraging on its blockchain. For years, network activity was primarily driven by memecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and high-yield decentralized finance (DeFi) apps, which failed to provide a stable foundation for its nearly $100 billion DeFi economy.
Now, as Wall Street increasingly bets on Ethereum as the backbone of the stablecoin market, co-founder Vitalik Buterin is championing “low-risk DeFi” as the network’s flagship revenue engine. This category includes fundamental financial services such as payments, savings, and collateralized lending.
In a recent blog post, Buterin clarified his stance: “Non-financial and more experimental applications are crucially important for Ethereum’s role in the world and for its culture, but they do not need to be looked to as revenue generators.” This represents a significant shift from Ethereum’s earlier years, when DeFi was synonymous with double-digit yields from risky ventures and frenzies over digital collectibles.
Buterin acknowledges he was once “more suspicious of DeFi,” describing its main appeal at the time as “making money from trading highly speculative tokens.” Today, he argues, the industry’s center of gravity has moved toward simpler and more stable financial products.
Market data and industry analysts support this observation. The supply of stablecoins on Ethereum has surged 700% since the beginning of 2021 to over $160 billion. Concurrently, the market for tokenized real-world assets, like U.S. Treasuries, has expanded from a negligible amount to a $9 billion sector.
Tom Lee, chair of Ethereum treasury firm BitMine, previously told DL News, “Stablecoins are the ‘ChatGPT’ of crypto, and Ethereum is the backbone. It’s legally recognised, and has zero downtime.”
