Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik on the Creator Token Dilemma: Why Non-Tokenized DAOs Are the Key

1. Current Market Environment and the Status of Creator Tokens

From an overall market perspective, the popularity of creator tokens is often highly correlated with the crypto bull and bear cycles. During active market phases, creator tokens can quickly rise due to narrative-driven factors; however, during market corrections, liquidity can dry up rapidly, and price fluctuations far exceed the growth pace of the content itself.

This type of Token generally has several characteristics:

• The market cap is relatively small, and the price is easily influenced by emotions.
• Liquidity is concentrated among early participants.
• Value assessment is highly subjective.

In this structure, creator tokens are more like a short-term speculative asset rather than a reflection of long-term content value. This also reflects the reality that Vitalik pointed out, that “the incentive mechanism has not led to better content.”

2. Vitalik’s Diagnosis of the Ineffectiveness of Creator Token Incentives

Vitalik emphasized in his analysis that the problem is not that “creators are not working hard enough,” but rather that the incentives and selection mechanisms are misaligned. In the current model, as long as there is enough attention, it is possible to obtain funding through the token mechanism, but this process does not guarantee a continuous improvement in content quality.

More importantly, as AI and automation tools develop, the marginal cost of content production is rapidly decreasing. The result is that the market is getting “more content” but not “better content.” Under these conditions, simply increasing token incentives may actually amplify the supply of low-quality content.

3. The Proposal and Governance Logic of Non-tokenized DAO

To address content curation issues, Vitalik proposed the concept of a non-tokenized creator DAO. This DAO does not rely on the number of tokens to determine governance weight, but rather decides which creators deserve to be included in the system through member consensus and a curation mechanism.

The key advantage of this structure is:

• The DAO itself becomes a “quality filter”
• The creator’s entry into the DAO itself is a form of reputation endorsement.
• The governance goal shifts from “token growth” to “content quality stability”.

From a market perspective, this DAO is more like a decentralized content fund or brand alliance, rather than a traditional token project.

4. The significance of converting creator tokens into prediction tools.

In Vitalik’s vision, the core function of creator tokens is no longer to directly allocate incentives, but rather to serve as a predictive tool. Market participants express their judgment on the future value of a creator by purchasing or holding tokens.

When creators are accepted by the DAO and continue to produce high-quality content, the DAO can use the profits to buy back and burn tokens, thereby linking the token price to “long-term recognition” rather than short-term hype. This mechanism is logically closer to a prediction market rather than fan tokens.

An important change in this design is that speculative behavior is no longer entirely negative, but is instead guided as a screening signal for quality creators.

5. Potential Impact of Market Prices on Investor Behavior

If this model is widely adopted, the creator token market may experience several structural changes:

First, the logic of price fluctuations has changed.

Token prices are no longer driven solely by traffic or trends, but more reflect the market’s expectations of the likelihood of the creator being accepted by the DAO.

Second, the investment cycle is extended.

Due to the time required for the DAO screening and repurchase mechanism, the short-term speculation space may be compressed, which is more beneficial for long-term participants.

Third, underlying assets like ETH will benefit indirectly.

Non-tokenized DAOs and buyback mechanisms usually require a stable on-chain settlement and execution environment, which may enhance the actual usage demand for public chains like Ethereum, rather than being driven solely by narrative.

6. Risks, Controversies, and Challenges in Realization

Despite having a clear concept, this model still faces multiple challenges:

• Do DAO members have sufficient curation capabilities?
• Will non-tokenized governance reduce community participation?
• Will the prediction logic evolve into a new speculative tool?

In addition, the differences in the definition of “high-quality content” across different cultures and content domains may lead to a division in DAO governance. These issues need to be continuously adjusted in practice.

7. Conclusion: The Next Stage of Evolution for Creator Tokens

Vitalik’s perspective does not deny creator tokens, but rather redefines their role. The shift from “direct incentive tools” to “prediction and filtering mechanisms” suggests that creator tokens may enter a new stage of development.

In the context of the market gradually returning to rationality and the ample supply of content, those who can better filter value will have a higher long-term premium. Non-tokenized DAOs and prediction mechanisms may be an important step towards the maturity of the Web3 content economy.