Forget ‘Ultrasound Money’? Vitalik Buterin Pushes New Ethereum Store-of-Value Vision

Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin is challenging one of Ether’s most celebrated investment narratives, suggesting that the second-largest crypto’s long-term value should depend less on how many tokens the network burns and more on its ability to become a reliable store of value.

The remarks could signal a major shift in how Ethereum’s value proposition is presented, particularly as declining transaction-fee burns weaken the deflationary narrative that once made ETH attractive to investors.

Buterin Wants Ethereum Valued as a Store of Value

In a Sunday morning post on X, Buterin outlined three main reasons for shifting attention away from Ethereum’s fee-burning narrative and toward its potential as a store of value.

First, he argued that ETH’s deflationary appeal was never as powerful as it seemed. Although the 2021 EIP-1559 upgrade introduced a mechanism to burn a portion of transaction fees, the amount of ETH destroyed has not always been enough to offset new token issuance. In his view, making fee burns the central measure of Ethereum’s success places too much emphasis on a single aspect of its token economics. According to Buterin, even if fee burns remain below 10% of the level required to offset new issuance indefinitely, Buterin said, “we should not feel sad,” adding that “the value of ETH comes from elsewhere.”

Another concern is that prioritizing ETH as a fee-burning asset could push Ethereum toward decisions that undermine its core principles. Buterin suggested that designing the network primarily to maximize transaction-fee burns could create tensions with decentralization and censorship resistance. Such an approach could require trade-offs that make the network less open and less resistant to external control, potentially weakening the very qualities that distinguish Ethereum from competing blockchain networks. 

By contrast, positioning ETH as a store of value would reinforce Ethereum’s existing strengths rather than force the network to pursue aggressive fee-burning targets. Buterin pointed to decentralization and what he described as CROPS (censorship resistance, open source, privacy, and security) as the qualities that give Ethereum its distinctive appeal. He argued these characteristics provide a more sustainable foundation for ETH’s long-term value than relying heavily on transaction fees to reduce its circulating supply.

Notably, the fee-burning mechanism was central to Ethereum’s popular “ultrasound money” narrative, which gained significant traction among ETH investors during the 2021 bull run. The thesis suggested that by permanently removing a portion of transaction fees from circulation, Ethereum could become increasingly deflationary, potentially making ETH scarcer and more valuable over time.

Stability Could Become Ethereum’s Biggest Selling Point

At the heart of Buterin’s argument is the idea that Ethereum’s greatest contribution to the broader financial ecosystem is stability. Its decentralization, censorship resistance, privacy, and security are not simply ideological advantages but practical qualities that matter to individuals and institutions holding assets on the network. A blockchain that can provide predictable, reliable infrastructure without depending on centralized intermediaries could become increasingly attractive as financial markets evolve.

He also sees an opportunity in the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence. As AI continues to disrupt industries and reshape economic activity, dependable financial infrastructure could become more valuable. “In the era of AI disruption, stability will be highly valued,” he wrote. 

Buterin believes Ethereum’s emphasis on stability could give ETH a stronger store-of-value proposition in this changing environment, shifting the investment narrative away from token burns and toward the network’s ability to preserve trust over the long term.

Interestingly, Buterin’s position also found support from Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, who appeared to share his skepticism about making transaction fees the centerpiece of a blockchain’s value proposition. Yakovenko dismissed the idea of treating fees as the product, calling it “absolutely meaningless.” He argued that blockchain networks should focus on delivering tangible value to users rather than trying to control how much people pay to have their transactions included in a block.