Vitalik: DeFi is an essential part of Ethereum's core value, and in the future, it will regain the spirit of early DeFi.

On February 25th, Ethereum founder Vitalik posted on social media stating that DeFi is an important part of Ethereum’s core values. Financial empowerment is a key dimension for achieving autonomy and freedom in today’s world. Finance is far from Ethereum’s only use case, but it is crucial. Currently, DeFi has opened up the world’s best savings, risk management, and wealth creation opportunities in a permissionless manner. The Ethereum Foundation needs to continue building on this foundation. The greatness of Ethereum’s early DeFi era lay in its daring to dream, innovate, and create new paradigms. Future DeFi will revive this spirit—don’t just aim to “build a better stablecoin,” but think deeper about underlying issues and propose better solutions. The Ethereum Foundation’s support for “on-chain finance” and “DeFi” is not indiscriminate. It has a clear vision for DeFi: a permissionless, open-source, privacy-first, security-oriented global financial system—maximizing users’ control over their assets, minimizing centralized bottlenecks and trusted third parties, and democratizing risk management and wealth accumulation. The foundation hopes protocols can pass an “exit test”: even if the founding team suddenly disappears, the system can continue to operate. Achieving this vision requires a lot of work.