Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin emphasized the growing importance of zero-knowledge proofs (ZK) during the 11th Global Blockchain Summit on October 23. Buterin noted that while people currently question the need for ZK, in five years, the question will shift to why not use ZK. He described zero-knowledge proofs as crucial for achieving scalability, security, and privacy in blockchain technology, transitioning from experimental to foundational infrastructure for the next generation of the crypto ecosystem.