Vitalik Buterin Outlines Ethereum's 2025 Progress and Goals for Becoming the World Computer
In a New Year’s post shared on X, Vitalik Buterin discussed Ethereum's advancements in 2025 and emphasized the platform's long-term vision. Ethereum has made progress by becoming faster, more reliable, and better at handling growth without sacrificing decentralization. Buterin cautioned against short-term trends such as tokenized dollars or memecoins, urging the community to focus on building durable, censorship-resistant applications instead.
He described Ethereum as a "world computer"—a shared, neutral internet infrastructure designed to run applications without centralized intermediaries. A core benchmark for success is the "walkaway test," ensuring that systems continue operating even if major maintainers disappear. For Ethereum to succeed, it must be both globally usable and genuinely decentralized, not only at the base layer but also for applications that often depend on centralized services.
The platform's progress aims to establish it as durable infrastructure supporting finance, identity, governance, and other fundamental internet services. Buterin noted that his remarks are not detailing a specific upgrade roadmap but serve as a reminder of why recent technical work matters toward achieving these long-term goals. The transition from ongoing upgrades to widespread real-world use will test how well Ethereum's ideals can scale under practical conditions.
