Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has been described as “giantly important” by fellow Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, reflecting a sentiment held by many experts in the space.

Speaking exclusively to Cointelegraph Managing Editor Gareth Jenkinson on the Decentralize with Cointelegraph podcast, Lubin explained that although Buterin’s absence wouldn’t cripple the ecosystem, his contributions are invaluable.

“[Buterin] makes great contributions in terms of a high-level roadmap sketch that people can flesh out. He’s always considered or considered himself probably more of a crypto economist than a computer scientist,” said Lubin.

Lucas Schor, CEO of Safe Wallet, also emphasized Buterin’s influence during Safe{Con} in Berlin, noting that Buterin’s usage of their platform validates its importance. “In the past, people have reported that Vitalik says he uses Safe [Wallet] to safeguard a lot of his funds,” Schor told Jenkinson.

Schor explained that Buterin’s influence carries extra weight in the Ethereum ecosystem. “In our part of the ecosystem, Vitalik is someone that's pushing for the content section agenda, and he will talk about challenges that he sees along the way. Him doing that will probably have a bunch of people then think about how can we solve these challenges, which is quite valuable.”

Buterin’s technological influence is also notable. His Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 7702 introduces a new transaction type that allows an externally-owned account (EOA) to temporarily act as a smart account for a single transaction. This innovation enables the deployment of smart contract features without permanently changing the account's structure.

Lubin also highlighted Buterin’s broader efforts, including his involvement in Montenegro. “[Buterin] spent a bunch of time in Montenegro. There are opportunities there and in other places of the world with this clash of civilizations in a sort of organized way, by changing laws and by enabling nation states to level themselves up with respect to our technology.”

Although Lubin was uncertain if Buterin wanted the Montenegro topic discussed, he noted that Buterin is public about his activities there.

On the collaboration between the Ethereum Foundation and Consensys, Lubin mentioned that Consensys is working “closely with the Ethereum Foundation.”

Buterin’s continued influence and contributions underscore his crucial role in shaping the future of Ethereum and the broader blockchain ecosystem.