Elon Musk, the tech magnate behind SpaceX and Tesla, has raised questions about Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s apparent retreat from X, the platform Musk acquired in 2022 for $44 billion. The conversation was sparked by a post from “Autism Capital,” a crypto influencer with significant clout in the crypto dialogue, who lamented Buterin’s reduced engagement on X, advocating for its potential to significantly uplift Ethereum’s presence.
Why Is The Ethereum Founder Avoiding X?
“Vitalik needs to get back on X. Farcaster isn’t going to win the culture war. If he wants Ethereum to shine he should engage more on this platform, not sequester himself with his chosen peers on an island. He will have far more impact if he engages the bigger community here,” Autism Capital stated.
Musk’s straightforward inquiry, “Why did he leave?” posed on the platform, has since unleashed a broad spectrum of conjectures and insights from the cryptocurrency community. In the heart of the ensuing conversation, the issue of rampant bot activity on X was flagged as a potential deterrent for Buterin.
A poignant observation was made by a user referencing Tyler John’s analysis, who detailed the spamming issue for the ETH co-founder: “Vitalik Buterin has to append every reply with “srry 4 ratio-ing” because immediately afterwards a deluge of sycophants, crypto bots, and followers rains down on the post with tickers, memes, and expressions of praise and all the OP can see is #ETH and $SOL for three days.”
Buterin responded to this in January, stating, “This is (part of) why I do most of my tweeting on farcaster these days srry 4 ratio-ing.”
In the midst of these discussions, Buterin’s recent activity on X, albeit limited, remains focused on promoting Ethereum’s technological strides. Prior to the conversation initiated by Musk and Autism Capital, Buterin highlighted the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), emphasizing its potential to eliminate vulnerabilities like multi-sig backdoors, reflecting his ongoing commitment to the Ethereum project despite his sparse presence on X.
However, Buterin’s advocacy for Farcaster over X is notable. He has praised Farcaster for its decentralized nature and innovative features, such as the channel feature, which he believes offers a superior social media experience. “Farcaster’s channel feature makes it a better social media platform than X,” Buterin has stated, illustrating his support for platforms that align with his vision for a decentralized, user-empowered digital ecosystem.
At press time, Ethereum (ETH) price stood at $3,490. In the weekly chart, ETH held above the 0.618 Fib ($3.398), confirming the potential for further upside.