Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin backs ETH as store of value over fee burns

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has argued that ETH should be valued primarily as a store of value rather than through transaction-fee burning, questioning a long-standing investment argument built around the cryptocurrency becoming increasingly scarce. Vitalik Buterin argues ETH should prioritize store-of-value properties over maximizing network transaction fee burns indefinitely. Buterin says Ethereum should retain EIP-1559 even when fee burning fails to offset token issuance. Ethereum's decentralization, censorship resistance, privacy and security underpin Buterin's preferred long-term ETH investment case today. Buterin argues maximizing Ethereum transaction fees could undermine affordability, decentralization and resistance to external capture.