Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz praised Ethereum’s co-founder for his past role while saying his reduced public activity is weighing on strategic direction, morale and investor confidence.
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said Vitalik Buterin deserves a ‘crypto hero’ award for his foundational work on Ethereum, while warning that the co-founder’s reduced recent activity is hurting the Ethereum ecosystem. The remarks, reported by CoinMarketCap, revive a familiar debate in crypto over whether decentralized networks can avoid dependence on prominent founders even as markets and investors still look for visible leadership. Novogratz credited Buterin’s early role in building Ethereum, which the article describes as the world’s second-largest blockchain by market capitalization, and linked that work to the rise of decentralized finance (blockchain-based financial applications) and NFTs. But he also said Ethereum is feeling the effects of Buterin’s lighter public presence, especially around strategic direction and community morale. The comments come as Ethereum faces pressure from rival layer-1 blockchains such as Solana and Avalanche, alongside continuing scrutiny over scalability and transaction fees. The network’s shift to proof-of-stake (system that secures a network through staked tokens) through The Merge was widely celebrated, but questions remain among some investors and developers about development speed and governance. Buterin has intentionally stepped back from day-to-day development and public commentary over the past two years to encourage greater decentralization and self-sufficiency, though he remains active in high-level research and occasionally publishes technical writing. Reactions inside the community are mixed: some see the pullback as evidence of ecosystem maturity, while others, particularly institutional investors, worry that the lack of a clearly visible leader could slow decision-making and weaken Ethereum’s response to competition. The article says Ethereum’s price has underperformed relative to Bitcoin and several major altcoins in recent months, and that total value locked in DeFi has posted incremental declines. It adds that while no direct causal link is established, remarks from influential figures such as Novogratz can shape market perception and developer confidence. The broader question, it argues, is whether Ethereum can sustain momentum without relying on any single individual.