Although as the showpiece of Ethereum is considered, even its leading thinker, Vitalik Buterin, now expresses doubts about the DeFi sector.

Vitalik Buterin desires more sustainable uses of the DeFi-sector and a return to original principles, as evidenced by a tweet from Sunday.

In addition criticized the Ethereum founder the origin of many DeFi returns. According to Buterin, some of the existing models are often based on a "Ponzinomics" structure, where returns ultimately come from new users and not from real economic activity.

He further argued that returns from DeFi protocols should be based on external sources, rather than relying solely on internal market dynamics. Still, the founder praised Ethereum's decentralized exchanges, stablecoins and specific platforms such as Polymarket as positive examples of DeFi applications.

According to Vitalik Buterin, however, the DeFi market too often runs in circles. "The value of crypto-tokens is that you can use them to earn returns, which are paid by ... people trading crypto-tokens," he further explained.

With his critical statements, Buterin caused frustration within the Ethereum and DeFi communities. Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix, accused Buterin of underestimating the significance of DeFi and instead wanting to promote other, less-proven uses.

"He is constantly trying to bring to life things that have nothing to do with DeFi. But the reality is that the market is right - you're wrong," Warwick said. In doing so, he expressed his dissatisfaction with Buterin's "moralizing" attitude toward DeFi.

Despite criticism from the Ethereum founder, the DeFi sector is currently experiencing a small upturn.