Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has taken to social media platform Warpcast to highlight how the crypto community is reforming the use of certain English words and acronyms. In a recent post, Buterin noted that in the crypto space, “DAO” often means “project,” and “official” can sometimes mean “scam.”
Buterin framed the changing of the meaning of these words as part of a broader cultural phenomenon. According to him, it is an important part of the process by which different cultural spheres can use the same word in unrelated ways, citing examples from most European languages where ‘current’ means ‘current’ and ‘simultaneity’ means ‘competition’.
Notably, Buterin’s recent comments followed an earlier debate in which the Ethereum co-founder suggested that the crypto community has redefined “inflation” as an “unlimited aggregate supply” of currency. According to Buterin, they have deviated the meaning from the traditional economic definition.
In the “inflation debate,” Buterin argued against a claim from an Axios post that suggested an evolution in the meaning of inflation. According to the post, what used to mean “rising prices” has changed as those who use the term apply it to mean “high prices.”
In his argument, Buterin thinks that the crypto community has already “claimed the right to butcher the word inflation.” He noted that for members of the crypto community, inflation means an “increase in the total supply of a currency.”
Most respondents to Buterin’s post about “DAO” and “official” consider it a “tongue-in-cheek” statement, implying that the Ethereum co-founder was sarcastically addressing developments in the crypto industry. Many recognized the blockchain expert’s tone, but sought clarification to know if he was just joking or trying to convey a message.
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