Vitalik Buterin says the coming five years will be a turning point. At ETHTaipei 2024, he shared his thoughts on what's next for Ethereum and how it could change the real world.

What caught him off guard on the crypto scene? NFTs and meme coins have had a wild ride — nobody saw that coming five years ago. But what's really got him excited is the leap in ZK technology, or zero-knowledge proofs, which allows users to prove ownership of assets without performing additional operations.

Ethereum has been changing fast, merging and tweaking its code. But with all these big companies getting into crypto, Buterin has been thinking hard about how to keep Ethereum true to its roots. He is talking about getting the community to agree on common rules and making sure all kinds of people can have their say in Ethereum's future. He wants to make sure Ethereum keeps up its spirit as it steps into the big leagues and deals with the rules of the game set by governments.

When asked about people who do n'ot speak English getting in on the action, Buterin is all for it. He thinks non-English speakers have a big part to play by raising awareness of Ethereum in their own languages and jumping into chats and votes. He says just showing up and getting involved is the way to go.

Why is he into the idea of living for a really long time and making Ethereum's longevity an industry standard? Simply, he loves life. If he were to live forever? Well, he would keep doing his thing, just for a lot longer.

So, there you have it, Vitalik Buterin's lowdown on Ethereum's next big chapter. It is all about making the tech better, getting everyone on board and making sure Ethereum helps in the real world — all while keeping it as the people's platform. Here's to seeing how it all plays out in the next five years.