Vitalik Buterin of Ethereum Declares Himself a VR Skeptic

In a recent tweet, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, questioned the value of virtual reality (VR).

My concern with VR is similar to some anti-crypto people's concern about crypto: a feeling that people are "in love with the idea of it" in a way that far outpaces actual applications.

Just like with crypto, I do think important apps exist! But "VR for the sake of VR" won't work

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) October 28, 2022

Buterin asserts that “VR for the sake of VR” will not be successful, echoing one of the most often used talking points among cryptocurrency detractors. Therefore, he thinks that until there are widespread applications, the technology is unlikely to gain significant traction. Buterin is certain that there are such applications (the same also applies to crypto).

Buterin’s remarks follow a 25% decline in Meta’s stock on Thursday after the company released disappointing quarterly results. Meta was formerly known as Facebook. The tech company revealed a second consecutive quarterly sales decline, and it now appears likely that the fourth quarter will see yet another decline.

The personal wealth of CEO Mark Zuckerberg fell by more than $11 billion in a single day. Unfavorable macroeconomic conditions caused losses across the board for the industry in 2022, but Meta is taking a particularly hard hit as a result of its astronomically expensive gamble on the metaverse, which some analysts feel hastened the company’s demise.

The metaverse division of the company lost $9.4 billion, and 2023 is expected to be significantly worse for the business. Investors now see Zuckerberg’s once $1 trillion company as a total trainwreck, despite the fact that Zuckerberg is still “quite optimistic” in the company’s present course.