Vitalik Buterin Says His Influence Over Ethereum Decreases as Network Nears the Merge

With Ethereum (ETH) moving toward a merger, blockchain co-founder Vitalik Buterin reiterated that his influence on the network has dwindled over the past two years as more new developers take on multiple roles.
In an interview with business blogger Noah Smith, Buterin said he's long wanted Ethereum to grow into an ecosystem "where my influence could wane just because there are so many great voices." than begin to develop and speak up".
"In 2015, I was basically doing 80% of the 'research' in Ethereum, and even I was doing a lot of Python coding. In 2017, I was coding a lot less, and could have been. I'm 70% research In 2020, I'll probably do a third of the research and code very little, but I'm still doing most of the "high-level theorizing". But over the past few years, even high-level theory has been something that has slowly slipped out of my hands,” he said.
According to him, new ETH researchers like Polynya have gradually taken over much of the leading thinking regarding Ethereum scaling solutions.
"People like [barryWhiteHat] and Brian Gu have taken over zero-knowledge technology, and Justin and Dankrad, originally hired as researchers, have also increasingly established themselves as thought leaders. ", according to Buterin.
Although the programmer did not specify what project he is currently working on, he mentioned his latest hobby and inspiration.
“On the scientific front beyond cryptography, the advances in biotechnology and AI are astounding – in the latter case, some might say, perhaps a little too hard to believe. We are starting to understand both what 21st century politics and technology will look like and how each of the things we are doing will fit into the picture,” he said. .
Meanwhile, as noted, entering the race for this year's crypto-related bestsellers, Buterin will be releasing Proof of Stake, a collection of his writings from the past 10 years, in physical and digital book form on September 27.