Full Transcript of Hsiao-Wei Wang's Speech at Devconnect ARG.
Speaker: Hsiao-Wei Wang (Co-Executive Directors of Ethereum Foundation)
Compiled by: ChainFeeds
Ethereum is a ladder.
It is a system that allows people starting from zero to continuously climb up through their own efforts. Every time someone builds something new on it, the system grows taller. It is a ladder that can never be fully constructed because its future is being co-created by everyone present at this moment.
The usefulness of a ladder lies in its ability to "take you somewhere": a direction, an opportunity, a path upward. Ethereum operates in the same way. It never promises a fixed endpoint but provides people with a path they can climb at their own pace. Whenever someone adds a new step, those who follow can stand a little higher.
I first got involved about seven or eight years ago. This year marks a new chapter for Ethereum. Since the Ethereum Foundation completed its leadership transition eight months ago, the first responsibility Tomasz and I set for ourselves was to ensure a stable and smooth transition. Ethereum is entering a new phase.
I define this phase by three capabilities:
The ability to remain reliable under pressure.
The ability to continuously evolve based on community feedback.
The ability to take responsibility with a true "guardian" mindset.
Reliability is not just a slogan; it is something we must "earn" block by block. So far, Ethereum has achieved 100% network uptime and continuous block production during all major upgrades, and we believe Fusaka will be the next example.
Reliability is the prerequisite that allows people to "build here without fear." You must know that the step you are standing on is solid.
As of today, Ethereum has been around for 10 years. We just celebrated its 10th anniversary today. This is the accumulation of countless people building, experimenting, failing, and trying again over the decade. And the system has always been running, making all of this possible.
The second capability is flexibility.
Flexibility means: we do not pretend to know everything.
It requires us to be willing to listen carefully when the community points out "what is not working well, what needs improvement."
It requires us to humbly adjust our course when necessary.
When we truly understand "how people are climbing this ladder," the ladder becomes stronger.
As for the Ethereum Foundation, it cares about Ethereum but does not control it. We do not decide the direction; we maintain an environment that allows the direction to emerge naturally.
Stewardship is not "power over Ethereum," but "the contributions and responsibilities we take on for Ethereum."
Ethereum operates because people come in from all directions.
Whether you are a researcher, a client team, an application developer, an investor, an application user, a scientist, a scholar, a student, a local community organizer, or just a newcomer, or an experienced veteran: this ladder welcomes everyone willing to build something here.
What is truly magical about this community is that when one person climbs up, they are not climbing alone. We have an extremely rich resource and collaboration network, and when one person climbs up, they often build a new step, allowing the next person to stand on that level.
This is how Ethereum's "compound effect" is generated.
How does compounding grow?
Let’s take a simple example to see what this compounding growth and "the ladder getting higher" looks like.
Imagine a user who is encountering the crypto world for the first time, perhaps starting with a DeFi use case. They use DeFi to achieve a goal that matters to them.
Meanwhile, someone searching for opportunities, a researcher or analyst, sees new ideas from these real actions.
In another place, an application developer meets their co-founder at an Ethereum hackathon, and they decide to create a brand new product together.
This product will soon become a source of inspiration for another group of people, turning into a new platform, a new step on the ladder.
This ladder is not a pyramid, but a continuously cycling system.
Every step taken by one person becomes the starting point for those who follow.
Work at the protocol layer translates into real-world progress;
Applications become new steps;
Research becomes new opportunities.
In this way, Ethereum is "growing taller" for all of us, even for those who have not yet discovered it.
Early Exploration and Key Steps
The Ethereum Foundation invests in many early explorations that others may not take on:
Early foundational research, early client development, and various experiments that may seem "a bit strange."
At the beginning, many things do not seem that important, or even a bit "incomprehensible."
But after a few years, when we look back, we find:
A significant portion of these have become extremely critical steps today, and new teams and projects can only continue to build upward by standing on these research and development results.
At the same time, we cannot pretend:
Decentralization will "automatically maintain";
Convenience comes "at no cost";
The risk of being "captured" by a few does not exist.
What truly protects the essence of Ethereum is honesty and transparency.
True decentralization, fair neutrality, and resilience under pressure are steps we must never compromise on.
Not because "a little compromise might be okay,"
But because once these core principles break, all the steps above could potentially collapse together.
Not just a blockchain, but a soil for "new things"
Today, ten years later, Ethereum is no longer just a "blockchain."
It is a soil where:
New forms of assets can emerge,
New ways of expressing identity can appear,
Culture and communities can be organized in new ways,
Coordination and collaboration can grow into entirely new forms.
It is a platform that carries ideas that "the world has not yet imagined."
And our job is not to "race to climb to the highest point,"
But to ensure that those who come after can climb much higher than we did.
Now, when family members ask me "what do you do," I can answer like this:
I help keep this ladder stable.
If those I will never meet can use this ladder to reach places I will never arrive at, that is the success of Ethereum.
Ethereum succeeds because it is not owned by any one team.
Not the Ethereum Foundation, not a specific layer two, and not a single validator.
We can rise together because we can only rise together.
The future of Ethereum will not be built solely by those on stage but will be shaped by everyone present and those watching from afar at this moment.
Through your experiences, your imaginations, and your courage to step onto the next rung.
Ethereum never promises "easy access."
It promises a fair opportunity for everyone to join, a journey where "every step taken can change the boundaries of possibility."
Our commitment is simple:
We will continue to do the quiet, less glamorous work that keeps Ethereum stable.
So that when people build on it, what they create has the chance to be truly "extraordinary."
Thank you for walking this journey with us,
Thank you for believing in such an open system,
And thank you for helping to build the next step.
Ethereum is a ladder, and we will climb up together.
Q&A Session
Q: Is Bulbasaur really your favorite Pokémon?
This is the most voted question.
The answer is: Bulbasaur is not just my favorite Pokémon; it is the strongest Pokémon.
I also think Bulbasaur is a great "coordinator," in a sense, this is very much like Ethereum:
Winning through coordination.
Q: What is the one thing you are most looking forward to in 2026? Is it one thing or many things?
I think 2026 will continue the trends that began in 2025, more like a "second phase" of 2025.
We will see more real-world adoption:
More people using Ethereum in their daily lives, using DeFi protocols, using open zero-knowledge technologies to solve real problems.
Q: Do you think this ladder has become easier to climb?
For newcomers, I think the answer is "yes."
This ladder has become quite stable for newcomers, making it easier to take the first step.
Of course, as you go higher, every new invention, every new step will still be full of challenges.
But as long as this entire community is here, I believe we can tackle these challenges together.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
