Ethereum's true mission: From the world's computer to the core infrastructure of the internet

On the first day of the new year, Vitalik Buterin articulated the core pursuit of Ethereum. This is not about price or market position, but about a grander vision: to make Ethereum the infrastructure of the internet, just as TCP/IP is for networks. In the current climate of low confidence in the crypto market, such discourse is especially significant.

The Gap Between Mission and Reality

From the perspective of technological progress and direction

V神 pointed out that Ethereum has made substantial progress by 2025. Increasing Gas limits and Blob counts, improving node software quality, and reaching performance milestones for zkEVM—these seemingly technical indicators all point in the same direction: enabling Ethereum to support more applications and larger-scale decentralized computing.

According to the latest data, the total value locked (TVL) in the ZK-Rollup ecosystem has doubled from $9 billion to $18 billion. Scroll has achieved full EVM equivalence with TPS reaching 2000, and zkSync Era’s Boojum upgrade will demonstrate a fivefold increase in generation speed. These figures indicate that Ethereum’s scalability solutions are moving from theory to practice.

Three Core Elements

To become the internet’s infrastructure, Ethereum needs to achieve three goals:

• Censorship Resistance: Applications are unaffected by fraud, censorship, or third-party interference
• Usability: Large-scale usability must be achieved at both the blockchain layer and application layer
• Persistence: Applications can continue to operate even if developers disappear

All three elements are indispensable. Without good usability, applications will be slow; insufficient censorship resistance could lead to suppression by regulators; lack of persistence equates to pseudo-decentralization.

The Balance of Power and Decentralization

It’s worth noting that Vitalik’s article “Balance of Power,” published on New Year’s Eve, actually provides a theoretical foundation for this mission. He pointed out that many projects focus solely on business models (how to acquire resources) but neglect decentralization models (how to prevent power concentration).

This is especially important for Ethereum. It cannot repeat the mistakes of internet development—being monopolized by a few large companies. Ethereum’s infrastructure status must be built on true decentralization. This means:

• Developers cannot monopolize discourse
• L2 ecosystems cannot be controlled by a single team
• Governance rights must be dispersed among the community

New Year’s Signal

On January 1, V神 changed his profile picture to a style inspired by Milady NFT. This seemingly casual act actually sends a signal: the Ethereum ecosystem is evolving, not only technically but also culturally. From serious technical discourse to engaging with community culture, this shift itself embodies the practice of decentralization—tech elites are integrating rather than dominating the community.

At the same time, he issued a New Year message: “Nothing is more important than the joy of creation. Let’s continue building.” This emphasizes a long-term commitment. In a market where the Crypto Fear & Greed Index has fallen to 20 (extreme fear), such persistence is even more valuable.

Summary

Ethereum’s mission has never been to be “the fastest chain” or “the cheapest,” but to become the internet’s infrastructure—a truly decentralized, censorship-resistant, highly usable computing platform. The technological progress toward 2025 is steadily approaching this goal, and V神’s reflections on the balance of power are providing governance support for its realization.

In the current market downturn, such long-term thinking is especially rare. Ethereum’s path is still long, but the direction is clear.