The story of Ethereum is not just one of technological breakthroughs—it’s a narrative shaped by visionaries, setbacks, community resilience, and relentless innovation. In a candid conversation from the inaugural episode of the ETHTAO podcast, two seasoned figures in the Ethereum ecosystem—Fatbro, a serial builder across blockchain cycles, and Pan Zhixiong (潘致雄), a deep-tech researcher—reflect on Ethereum’s journey, its current crossroads, and what lies ahead.
Their dialogue offers rare insight into the soul of a network that has redefined decentralized computing. From DeFi summers to Layer2 fragmentation, from governance dilemmas to the elusive search for mass adoption, this is a conversation about Ethereum’s identity, its values, and its future legitimacy in an increasingly competitive landscape.
The Journey In: From Bitcoin Mining to DeFi Mania
Fatbro’s path into Ethereum wasn’t linear. He started with Bitcoin mining in 2012–2013 but found it technically fascinating yet creatively stagnant. His return to crypto came through EOS, where he invested heavily in ecosystem development—only to be disillusioned by Block.one’s lack of execution. That experience led him back to Ethereum during the explosive DeFi Summer of 2020.
“When EOS lost its soul, I started asking: which infrastructure truly supports decentralization, security, and real application innovation?” — Fatbro
For Pan Zhixiong, Ethereum entered his radar more deliberately. Though aware of Bitcoin since 2011, his full immersion began in 2017 during the ICO wave. Projects like Brave launching tokens on Ethereum signaled a new era of programmable money. But it was DeFi—MakerDAO, Uniswap, Curve—that revealed Ethereum’s transformative potential.
Yet today, both observe a troubling trend: despite massive technical progress, Ethereum seems stuck. The euphoria of DeFi and NFT summers hasn’t returned. While Solana captures meme culture and rapid user growth, Ethereum struggles with perception—a sense that it’s losing momentum.
👉 Discover how Ethereum continues to shape the future of decentralized finance.
Core Value Proposition: Why Decentralization Still Matters
At the heart of their discussion lies a fundamental question: What is Ethereum’s unique value?
Solana excels at speed and user experience. It actively funds developers and markets aggressively. But Pan emphasizes that Ethereum’s strength isn’t raw performance—it’s decentralization as a first principle.
“If you care about self-custody, censorship resistance, and long-term sovereignty—outside of Bitcoin, only Ethereum delivers at scale.” — Pan Zhixiong
Vitalik Buterin has consistently prioritized this ethos. The Ethereum Foundation funds multiple independent client teams, invests in ZK research, and pushes for physical node decentralization—not because it’s efficient, but because it’s resilient.
This contrasts sharply with chains like Solana, whose validator set remains relatively centralized and whose response to outages raises concerns about durability under pressure.
For consumer apps or memes? Solana may win on UX. But for financial infrastructure that must withstand regulatory scrutiny and survive decades? Ethereum’s design philosophy offers unmatched robustness.
The EVM Advantage: Trust Through Time and Code
One of Ethereum’s most underappreciated assets is the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Despite early limitations, EVM has become the de facto standard for smart contract execution.
Fatbro draws a parallel to TCP/IP: not the most advanced protocol at inception, but one that won through network effects, time, and capital accumulation.
“Even unknown devs can fork Uniswap on a new Layer2—and users trust it instantly. That’s EVM’s trust inheritance.” — Fatbro
This trust is reinforced by real-world stress tests. Billions in value have flowed through EVM-based protocols, surviving hacks, market crashes, and protocol upgrades. That proven track record creates a moat no new chain can replicate overnight.
Moreover, Ethereum continues evolving the EVM—parallel execution models are being explored to boost throughput without sacrificing compatibility.
Consensus Innovation: Building Censorship Resistance Into the Core
An often-overlooked technical frontier is transaction inclusion guarantees. Ethereum plans to embed anti-censorship mechanisms directly into its consensus layer via concepts like Inclusion Lists.
Under this model, proposers must include certain transactions—ensuring users can’t be arbitrarily blocked. This would make Ethereum uniquely resistant to regulatory pressure compared to chains where nodes might voluntarily comply with OFAC-style sanctions.
“If Solana gets sanctioned tomorrow, blacklisting addresses is trivial. On Ethereum? It would require compromising thousands of independent nodes.” — Pan Zhixiong
As global scrutiny intensifies, this feature could become a decisive advantage for DeFi, privacy tools, and global payment systems.
Scaling Realities: EIP-1559 and the Market-Driven Pivot
EIP-1559 transformed Ethereum into a deflationary asset—burning fees instead of paying them to miners. Initially celebrated, this model now faces tension due to scaling demands.
With Layer1 block sizes increasing (e.g., Pectra upgrade) and Layer2 subsidies growing, fee burns have slowed. Is this a betrayal of “Ultrasound Money”? Or pragmatic adaptation?
Pan argues it’s the latter.
“Competition forces product improvement. We’re no longer the only game in town.” — Pan Zhixiong
Solana’s success proved that high throughput matters. Ethereum responded not by copying—but by innovating: rollups offload computation while anchoring security to L1.
Still, questions remain: Will L1 continue expanding? Can it support fast withdrawals and high-frequency use cases natively?
Vitalik’s recent writings suggest yes—Layer1 must ensure enough space for critical functions like forced exits from rollups. Concepts like Beam Chain and Single Slot Finality point toward a future where Ethereum L1 becomes faster and more decentralized—not either/or.
The Layer2 Dilemma: Alignment vs. Autonomy
Rollups were meant to scale Ethereum. But today’s ecosystem is fragmented—dozens of L2s compete for liquidity, each with different data availability layers and economic models.
This raises a critical question: Will L2s stay loyal to Ethereum?
Some, like Optimism (OP Stack) or Base, are deeply aligned—using Ethereum for DA and settlement. Others explore alternative data layers (e.g., Celestia), reducing costs but weakening ties to Ethereum.
Fatbro highlights Vitalik’s call for Layer2 Alignment: encouraging rollups to contribute back through shared security or taxation mechanisms.
“If a $10B L2 runs on cheap DA but avoids supporting Ethereum’s node economy—is that fair?” — Fatbro
While no protocol-level tax exists yet, economic incentives and community norms may guide behavior. Projects tied to core Ethereum values—like Uniswap or Lido—are less likely to drift away.
👉 Explore how next-gen rollups are reshaping Ethereum’s scalability roadmap.
What’s Next? The Missing Killer Apps
Despite all progress, Ethereum lacks a breakout application with hundreds of millions of users. Both guests speculate on promising frontiers:
1. Non-USD Stablecoins
Pan expresses hope for stable assets not pegged to the dollar—like RAI (a ETH-denominated stablecoin). A truly decentralized monetary primitive could thrive in volatile economies.
2. On-Chain Social
Projects like Farcaster offer decentralized identity and social graphs. Breaking network effects from Web2 giants remains hard—but if achieved, it could unlock viral growth.
3. Real-World Assets (RWA)
Fatbro sees untapped potential here. Imagine using U.S. consumer debt notes as collateral to leveraged trade ETH—or borrowing against real estate tokens to buy crypto.
“When RWAs meet DeFi primitives, we get hybrid financial products no traditional system can replicate.” — Fatbro
4. Borderless Payments
Stablecoins already power trade in emerging markets—from Nigeria to Argentina. As USDT and USDC flow into real-world commerce, they become tools of financial inclusion.
Governance & Upgrades: Transparency vs. Responsiveness
The Pectra upgrade—delayed due to testnet misconfigurations—revealed cracks in Ethereum’s development process. While highly transparent (all EIP discussions archived on GitHub), decision-making often feels distant from app developers’ needs.
Fatbro poses a provocative idea: Ethereum needs a CMO—a Chief Growth Officer focused on user onboarding, developer success, and narrative control.
“New builders see negative sentiment on Twitter and assume Ethereum is dying. We need proactive storytelling.” — Fatbro
Pan agrees there’s a gap between research teams and commercial adoption. He launched Ethereum Weekly Digest to bridge it—curating updates for builders who can’t follow every ACD call.
Vitalik remains central to roadmap decisions—but his influence stems from unmatched context, not authority. Still, involving more wallet teams, L2 operators, and dApp founders in prioritization could improve alignment.
👉 Stay ahead with insights into Ethereum's evolving ecosystem and upcoming upgrades.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is Ethereum still competitive against Solana?
A: Yes—but differently. Solana wins on speed and short-term growth; Ethereum wins on decentralization, security, and long-term trust. They serve different use cases.
Q: Will ETH remain deflationary?
A: Not always. Burn rates depend on activity and block space supply. Periods of high usage (like NFT mints) cause deflation; quiet periods or expanded capacity may lead to inflation.
Q: Can Layer2s leave Ethereum?
A: Technically yes—if they switch data availability layers. But doing so sacrifices security and community trust. Deeply integrated L2s (e.g., OP Stack) are unlikely to decouple.
Q: What makes EVM so valuable?
A: Network effects. Millions of lines of audited code, trillions in transaction volume, and developer familiarity create an ecosystem no new VM can easily replace.
Q: Why does censorship resistance matter?
A: For DeFi to be global financial infrastructure, it must resist interference from any single jurisdiction—ensuring open access regardless of geography or politics.
Q: When will account abstraction go mainstream?
A: EIP-7702 (part of Pectra) simplifies smart contract wallets. Once adopted by major wallets, features like social recovery and gasless transactions will dramatically improve UX.
Ethereum’s next chapter won’t be written by hype alone—but by steady iteration, principled design, and community conviction. Its challenges are real: fragmentation, competition, slow decision cycles. But so are its strengths: unmatched decentralization, battle-tested code, and a vision built for the long arc of history.
As Fatbro puts it: “We love it because it’s hard.” And perhaps that’s the point.