Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has once again captured the crypto community's attention with a peculiar viral video.
The clip shows Buterin kneeling in front of a four-legged robot, gesturing playfully, and making a seemingly "meow" sound before patting the robot on its head. At the time of this publication, Buterin has yet to address the video on social media himself.
While this video might seemingly look lighthearted, but it has ignited widespread speculation about its implications for Ethereum's future.
Prominent crypto figures have weighed in on the incident. Influencer Wendy O humorously remarked, “The future of Ethereum is in this man’s hands… Meow,” while Cork Protocol co-founder Phil Fogel expressed his bullish sentiment despite Vitalik's quirky interaction with the robot dog.
Others, like pseudonymous trader Scott Crypto Warrior, linked the video to Ether's recent price struggles, jokingly urging followers to “pray for our ETH bags".
The timing of the video coincides with Ether’s underperformance against Bitcoin, as its relative strength hits a five-year low.
Some traders voiced concerns about Ethereum’s reliance on Buterin’s leadership, and what kind of effort is he putting in at a time when Ethereum is at its lowest. The Count of Monte Crypto said in a March 29 X post
"Sure, the man is free to do whatever he wants, why should we care, why should we care, however, the fact that a vast majority of my investment relies on this guy is making me a bit stressed."
Another crypto trader said
"While Ethereum is doing -5% 1-minute candles, Vitalik is busy meowing at a robot."
Buterin has always entertained the crypto world with his quirky antics. At Token 2049, Buterin started calling out some cringy anthems for crypto projects and also sung on stage, receiving a positive reaction from both the live audience and those on social media.
Since Ether reclaimed the $4,000 price level in December 2024, it has dropped nearly 55%. Ethere is currently trading at $1,841, down 13.34% over the past month, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Ether sitting below $2,000 has crypto trader Alwx Becker convinced it is a prime long-term buying opportunity.
"I can't fathom looking at a sub $2k ETH and thinking you're not going to be in big profit sometime in the next 2 years. Easiest asset trade in biblical history right now."