Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder and chief scientist, believes the next five years will be critical in determining whether the network can achieve mainstream adoption.

Speaking during an interview at the ETHTaipei conference on March 20, Buterin predicted that the next half-decade will prove whether Ethereum is ready for “real-world” adoption.

Buterin said stablecoins have emerged as the leading use case for crypto in recent years. Indeed, stable tokens facilitate frictionless payments, protection from price fluctuations and inflation for users residing in countries with volatile fiat currencies, and a popular on-and-off ramp to the broader web3 ecosystem.

Buterin asserted that low fees and high-quality user interfaces are critical to ensure that stablecoins continue to reach new audiences.