Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes that Ether’s valuation should be based primarily on its store-of-value function, as the investment thesis based on fee burning is not as compelling as previously thought. Buterin said Ethereum should retain its fee-burning mechanism even if EIP-1559 can offset only a small portion of new issuance over the long term. He believes Ethereum’s value is underpinned by decentralization, censorship resistance, privacy, security, and stability. Buterin warned that maximizing fee burns would require highly interventionist governance and higher gas prices, potentially excluding some users. His comments came after the withdrawal of proposal EIP-8363, which sought to increase the proportion of validator rewards burned as the amount of ETH staked grows.