Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Takes a Moral Stand Against Crypto Casinos

On February 20th, Vitalik Buterin took an Ask Me Anything (AMA) where he responded to the serious question as to whether Ethereum should embrace the casino industry. There has been widespread criticism amongst certain sectors that Ethereum is not doing enough to support blockchain casinos. Buterin responded that he would leave the crypto space if such a “moral reversal” occurred and that the very notion of a crypto casino goes against his fundamental beliefs. “Perhaps the most disappointing thing for me recently,” says Buterin, “was when someone said that Ethereum is bad and intolerant because we don’t respect the ‘casinos’ on the blockchain enough, and other chains are happy to accept any application, so they are better.” This comes at a critical time for the Ethereum Foundation. Buterin has suggested neutrality for the application layer and only limited support for specific projects. Financial concerns have consumed many discussions about the Foundation. Pure neutrality at the application layer would allow for more gambling. A more limited approach, conversely, would allow the Ethereum Foundation to uphold their own ethical standards, while making calculated and frugal decisions regarding funds. Buterin expressed disappointment at the online meetings, noticing an over-focus on issues such as crypto gambling. But he conceded that when he meets people in person they often express similar views to him, having a moral focus on the issue of casinos, rather than a purely financial concern. There may be other issues that Buterin is addressing by targeting online casinos. He may be taking a swipe at other tokens like Solana that have promoted meme coins without restraint. There may be other so-called ‘Ethereum killer’ tokens that Buterin is taking a swipe at. Perhaps the ‘ethical approach’, according to this perspective at least, is a case of sour grapes. The Ethereum price, after all, has been struggling in comparison to other tokens. This all comes as the Ethereum Foundation changes its strategy concerning funding, responding to concerns of the community that the foundation should fund projects with decentralized finance instead of merely selling Ethereum tokens. The foundation responded to this request by allocating 45,000 ETH, valued at $120 million, to defi solutions. This would involve funding platforms like Compound. The community agreed to the measures proposed.