Research

Discussion: Does Ethereum Need a New Narrative?

Feb 2, 2024 ⋅  9 min read

The current narratives associated with Ethereum, such as being the world computer or digital oil, are losing their appeal as technical realities, competition, and intellectual honesty come into play. Ethereum's hopes of being the world computer have faded, and its dominance in the financial sector has diminished. The shift towards rollups, while beneficial in some ways, has limited Ethereum's capacity for handling large volumes. The author suggests a narrative shift that focuses on Ethereum's value capture and its role as a security asset for other chains. By leveraging Ethereum's strong value capture and positioning it as the future security asset for rollups and other chain products, Ethereum can address scalability issues while still maintaining its security and value. Restaking and marketing Ethereum as the future security asset are proposed as effective marketing strategies.

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Dustin was previously the Enterprise research director at Messari. He has a broad focus across crypto with a particular interest in AI x Crypto, Consumer financialization, DeFi, and general infrastructure.

Prior to joining Messari, Seth worked in traditional finance software and services, and has a MSc in Applied Mathematics. Seth is a Senior Research Analyst on the Enterprise Research team, and focuses on infrastructure, verifiable compute, and the AI x Crypto intersection.

Mentioned in this report

About the authors

Dustin was previously the Enterprise research director at Messari. He has a broad focus across crypto with a particular interest in AI x Crypto, Consumer financialization, DeFi, and general infrastructure.

Prior to joining Messari, Seth worked in traditional finance software and services, and has a MSc in Applied Mathematics. Seth is a Senior Research Analyst on the Enterprise Research team, and focuses on infrastructure, verifiable compute, and the AI x Crypto intersection.

Mentioned in this report