Vitalik Buterin Disappointed With Embrace of Blockchain “Casinos”

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed his disappointment with some ETH community members and thought it was “bad” that the ecosystem was too welcoming for “casinos.”

During an ask-me-anything (AMA) on Tako, Buterin responded to a question about whether he had felt disappointed at the Ethereum Foundation, the crypto industry or the community. He answered “of course,” especially when others question why Ethereum has not been more open to applications with blockchain gambling, seemingly taking a jab at its competitor, Solana, and how their ecosystem has embraced a lot of memecoin activity over the past year.

Buterin’s comment comes as the Ethereum community has faced backlash from members raising the alarm that the chain will lose its competitive advantage to rivals if it doesn’t address some core issues, while Solana has attracted more new developers than Ethereum and has poached top talent.

Buterin also said that if the community continues on with this “moral reversal,” he would no longer participate in the Ethereum ecosystem.

“But I found an interesting point: on the internet, many people will say those things, but when I chat with the community in person, everyone’s values are the same as before, so I feel like I have a responsibility to this community and can’t abandon them,” Buterin added.