The post Vitalik Buterin Calls for Sustainable Incentives in Crypto appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Sustainable project growth depends on real utility, with incentives aligned to genuine risk and long-term value. Vitalik Buterin has joined a growing debate over how crypto projects attract users. In a recent online discussion, an Ethereum co-founder said financial incentives can drive adoption, but only under strict conditions. He argued that broad payments to users often create short-term activity without long-term value. Buterin Warns Against “Pay Users or Fail” Growth Strategy Discussion started after a post online claimed crypto apps cannot gain real traction without airdrops or token rewards. Commenters argued that financial payouts remain central to the formation of network effects. Responding on X, Vitalik Buterin agreed that incentives reflect current market conditions. However, he warned against turning adoption into a simple “pay users or fail” strategy. Buterin then drew a distinction between sustainable and unsustainable rewards. According to him, paying certain users from revenue collected from others creates a sound economic loop. In those cases, token flows mirror traditional business models where income funds growth. My first reaction to this was: “And that’s why I just got my $2,725 check of fileverse tokens now that fileverse has grown to the point where my dad regularly writes docs in fileverse that he sends to me” My second reaction to this was: “I see how this makes total sense from a… https://t.co/fnly2iCGi5 — vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 12, 2026 The CEO believes that paying users in the early stages can be reasonable. Liquidity providers face the possibility of hacks or project failure as new protocols carry technical and security risks. So, rewards in these cases act as compensation for taking on that added risk. Once these projects improve audits and build trust in the sector, risk levels fall. At that point, high rewards are no longer necessary. Buterin said this approach…

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Filed under: News - @ February 13, 2026 10:27 am