Vitalik Buterin Says DeFi Must Mature, Time to Move Beyond On-Chain Finance Slogans

▲ Vitalik Buterin / Source: X ©

Vitalik Buterin has declared a shift in the direction of decentralized finance, stating that he will only support protocols that meet standards of security, privacy, and decentralization, rather than broadly endorsing the catch-all slogan of “on-chain finance.”

According to investment media outlet FXStreet on February 25 (local time), Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said on X that decentralized finance (DeFi) must move toward a mature phase instead of pursuing reckless expansion. He clarified that the Ethereum Foundation (EF) would not indiscriminately support “on-chain finance” or “DeFi,” and presented clear criteria.

The core principle Buterin proposed is the “walkaway test.” A protocol can be considered truly decentralized only if it continues to function even when its founding team disappears or turns hostile. He identified centralized control points—such as admin keys, upgrade authority, oracle structures, and interfaces—as risk factors. The EF emphasized that protocols should progressively move toward trustless architectures.

He defined DeFi as central to the values of “autonomy and freedom” that Ethereum provides. While the early DeFi era created new financial primitives such as automated market makers (AMMs), the next phase, he noted, should go beyond simply producing better stablecoins and instead address fundamental issues such as risk management and hedging future expenses.

The roadmap released by the EF on February 23 includes security audits, standardization, strengthened wallet safeguards, and the introduction of AI-based formal verification. Oracle security and decentralization were identified as “areas with many hidden risks.” He also stated that privacy must be designed as a default feature even in complex DeFi applications, and that structural improvements are needed to reduce liquidation sniping risks.

While reiterating that Ethereum is a permissionless network, Buterin said the EF would focus on supporting protocols that are sustainable without their founders, built on open-source principles, privacy-centered design, and security-first architecture. This is interpreted as a message to both developers and users that projects will be evaluated based on long-term viability rather than short-term trends.

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