Buterin’s Bold Claim: Ethereum as the Anti-Cashless Apocalypse Tool

As governments push for digital-only payments, Ethereum’s co-founder throws a decentralized lifeline to the financially stranded.

Vitalik Buterin isn’t mincing words—while central banks experiment with CBDCs, ETH could become the rebel alternative for those locked out of traditional finance.

The irony? A system created to disrupt banks might end up saving people from their own governments’ cashless obsessions. (Take that, Wall Street.)

Sweden Urges Citizens to Keep Cash Amid Crisis Preparedness Push

Government-issued guidance recommends households store at least a week’s worth of cash in case of war or national emergency.

The MOVE follows growing anxiety over cybersecurity threats and the vulnerability of digital systems during periods of unrest.

“Nordics are walking back the cashless society initiative because their centralized implementation of the concept is too fragile,” Buterin posted, referencing the article. “Cash turns out necessary as a backup.”

While only 10% of Swedish transactions now use cash, authorities are reassessing the overreliance on central infrastructure.

Buterin sees this as an opening for decentralized systems like Ethereum to step in — not just as an alternative, but as a more resilient and private solution.

@rohangrey has done a lot of DEEP thought in this direction.

We basically know how to do it, but with the limitation that any solution depends on trusted hardware and/or post hoc enforcement against double-spenders.

For Ethereum to fill that role, it needs to meet high standards of reliability and privacy. Buterin emphasized the importance of advancing zero-knowledge proof-based technology to allow private, offline transactions.

However, he cautioned that current solutions still rely on trusted hardware or enforcement mechanisms to prevent double-spending.

“The know-how is there,” he said, “but trustless execution under extreme conditions remains a work in progress.”

Buterin Proposes Node Upgrade to Boost Ethereum Accessibility

Last week, Buterin unveiled a new proposal aimed at making it significantly easier for everyday users to run Ethereum nodes, by reducing the hardware and storage requirements currently needed to sync with the network.

The Ethereum mastermind suggested a shift in how nodes store and retrieve data, moving from full data replication to a more flexible, user-centric model.

Under this approach, nodes WOULD store only the data relevant to the user, rather than Ethereum’s entire global state, which currently exceeds 1.3 terabytes, according to Etherscan.

“Currently, the overhead is impractically high,” Buterin wrote, adding that even with ongoing optimizations, the cost of operating a full node will likely remain out of reach for most users without specialized hardware or cloud support.

Earlier this month, Connor said Ethereum’s “biggest mainstream moment” could come through its integration with AI, as the sector struggles with centralization, opaque algorithms, and growing privacy concerns.

“AI is plagued by black-box models, centralized data silos, and privacy pitfalls,” Connor noted, adding that Ethereum is uniquely positioned to address these issues.