Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Feels Meta's Metaverse Attempts Will 'Misfire'

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes that corporate attempts to build the metaverse will fail. In a Twitter thread over the weekend, the Ethereum co-founder also argued that there is not even a broadly accepted definition of the term yet, so it is too early to predict what consumers will want. Buterin said this while responding to the views of blockchain auditor Dean Eigenmann, who pointed out that while the ideas on the metaverse concept make sense, he doesn't think it'll happen through Venture Capitalist funding.

Buterin namechecked Meta in his critique of the corporates entering the space. "Anything Facebook creates now will misfire," he wrote in response to a tweet, arguing that metaverse-focused companies would likely fail because "it's far too early to know what people actually want."

The Ethereum creator shared his perspective on where the nascent space could be headed on Twitter on Sunday, saying he thinks that companies that are trying to create the metaverse are unlikely to succeed in their endeavours. While he said that he thinks the metaverse "is going to happen," he added that he doesn't think "any of the existing corporate attempts to intentionally create the metaverse are going anywhere."

It is worth recalling that the most notable corporate player to show interest in the metaverse to date has been Meta — Facebook's parent company that rebranded as part of a shift to embrace the metaverse late last year.

While Meta is not likely to incorporate blockchain technology or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into its metaverse, many decentralised metaverse programs have emerged in recent months leveraging the technology.

Buterin, meanwhile, has become known for his outspoken personality as his public profile has grown with Ethereum over the years. He often uses his Twitter account and blog to discuss Ethereum's technology and how decentralisation could impact the world. However, Buterin has rarely speculated on the metaverse and its future making his recent comments on the topic a tad more noteworthy.