The internet is getting louder, messier, and harder to trust, especially with the AI content takeover of the recent days.
Given that, Ethereum [ETH] co-founder Vitalik Buterin thinks there might be a better way to reward people who actually do good work.
Rewarding creators is harder than ever
In a recent X post, Buterin noted that crypto’s long-running struggle with creator rewards comes down to one core problem.
Too much content, not enough quality.
He argued that today’s internet no longer needs more posts or videos now that AI can churn those out cheaply. What’s missing is a reliable way to surface good work and make sure it’s rewarded fairly.
He mentioned Substack as one of the few platforms that has done this well, not through tokens, but through careful curation and strong editorial choices.
By contrast, most creator coin experiments have mainly rewarded people who were already popular.
As he put it plainly,
“And so your goal is not *incentivizing content*, it’s *surfacing good content*.”
Big ideas about Ethereum’s future aside…
…the present hasn’t been kind to its native token.
ETH has fallen more than 20% over the past week, with heavy selling pressure dragging prices lower.
But all’s not bad. Analyst Michael van de Poppe noted that the last time gold peaked, Ethereum had already bottomed months earlier (only to suffer a further 30-40% drop before turning around).
In the current cycle, ETH appears to be following a similar path.
So what’s next? The previous run was followed by Ethereum outperforming Bitcoin [BTC], with gains of over 300%. If the pattern holds, it won’t be too left-field to assume that great things are on the way.
Tested, but not abandoned
Ethereum’s recent drop is putting big names under pressure. ETH treasury leader Bitmine Immersion Technologies’ is now reportedly sitting on an estimated $6 billion unrealized loss!
Meanwhile, institutional flows are wobbling. Ethereum spot ETFs recorded over $326 million in weekly net outflows, per SoSoValue. Prices have slid massively alongside (and possibly equally triggered by) these exits.
Final Thoughts
- Ethereum is down 20%+, but core narratives are still intact.
- From creator DAOs to market cycles, quality will decide Ethereum’s next swing.