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What if the digital future still needs cash? While Sweden or Norway rediscover the importance of the species in the face of systemic risks, Vitalik Bterin will start this debate. In the X -transmitted position requires what -founder of Ethereum strengthening the resistance and confidentiality of the protocol. The aim is to make Ethereum a trusted alternative to cash. This statement means a strategic turning point in the use of blockchain use in the era after inclusion.
In short
- Vitalik buterin draws attention to the limits of di-digital through the example of the Nordic countries, returning to the use of cash.
- Sweden and Norway, however, pioneers of demateurized payments, re -measure favorable for cash.
- Bterin requires a strengthening of the Ethereum resistance so that it can work even in the case of cyber attack or massive failure.
- It also insists on confidentiality, which he considers necessary for Ethereum to become a substitute for cash.
Digital cash as a reaction to the fragility of centralized systems
Norway has taken measures that force traders to take cash payments, despite their position as a world leader in the use of demateurized payment solutions. In a publication broadcast on the X (formerly Twitter) on May 25, 2025, Vitalik Buterin relied on this reality to prevent a more resilient and intimate Ethereum capable of playing a role in cash.
Wrote:
Countries such as Sweden and Norway show that even the most advanced companies can return to dematorization.
These countries have long been considered to be the final models of the company without cash, today they revoke their dependence on centralized systems, especially after observing their vulnerability to cyber attacks or infrastructure failure.
So, by this end of the year, Sweden has sought to leave cash, now encouraging its citizens to use the species in the logic of civil defense. In Norway, sanctions are also provided against traders who refuse cash payments.
For buterin, these weak signals cannot be ignored. They are a direct warning on the ecosystem. Even the most advanced digital structures remain mistaken without autonomous rescue solutions.
In this context, calling the Ethereum to a system capable of taking over this role “Digital Cash”. According to him, this means two main requirements:
- Resistance: Ethereum must also be able to work in extreme conditions (network cuts, infrastructure, cyber attacks) without being depending on the centralized actor;
- Neutrality and portability: Like cash, Ethereum must be able to use in a universal way, without access barriers or censorship;
- Role “Safety Network” : Like cash in traditional economies, Ethereum must become a reliable alternative when other systems fail.
This defense comes at a critical moment when the ambitions of blockchains come against geopolitical reality and limits of contemporary technologies.
The BUTERINA report is therefore clear: in order to become a true benefit of digital sovereignty, the Ethereum must first prove that it can survive without the support of centralized structures trying to replace.
Confidentiality and Robustness: A place awaiting Ethereum
In the rest of his buterin intervention, he also insists at the next basic point: the need to strengthen intimate in Ethereum. “In order for Ethereum to compete with cash, they must also become private”Written without a detour.
Anonymity offered species cannot be ignored if blockchain settles that it will become a real money compensation. Even today, the initial transparency of Ethereum transactions is a structural weakness for certain sensitive uses that naturally protect cash.
The share is therefore double: maintaining individual freedoms and at the same time respects regulatory framework, the equation by far simple.
Technically Ethereum is not yet on this goal. The transactions are fully tracked on the main channel. Solving confidentiality, whether type “Evidence without publication” Or integrated into layers 2, are still in development or are controversial.
In addition, some projects such as Cash Tornado Cash have been strongly sanctioned, which slowed innovations in this area. Finally, the network resistance still depends to a large extent on external infrastructure, which makes any entitlement to autonomy equivalent to cash resistant in certain extreme situations.
This position of buterin, although lucid, challenges at several levels. If Ethereum wants to embody “digital cash”, it will have to run a deep mutation, technical and philosophical mutation. It will no longer be a question of accelerating transactions or cost reduction, but guaranteeing the level of autonomy, confidentiality and robustness that only physical systems still offer. This transformation is already launched, as evidenced by the recent decline in transaction costs, causing as many challenges as the hope of the future of decentralized finances.
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A graduate of the Toulouse and the Blockchain Consultant Certification certification holder and I joined the adventure of Cointribuna in 2019. I convinced of the potential of blockchain to transform many economy sectors, committing to raising awareness and informing the general public about how the ecosysty developed. My goal is to allow everyone to better understand blockchain and take the opportunity they offer. I try to provide an objective analysis of messages every day, decrypt trends on the market, hand over the latest technological innovations and introduce the economic and social issues of this revolution.
Renunciation
The words and opinions expressed in this article are involved only by their author and should not be considered investment counseling. Do your own research before any investment decision.