Ethereum’s Core Values Under Threat: Vitalik Buterin Sounds the Alarm
The Ethereum ecosystem’s core values of decentralization, privacy, and self-sovereignty have been compromised in the pursuit of widespread adoption, according to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. In a recent post on X, Buterin emphasized the need to regain lost ground in terms of self-sovereignty and lack of trust, stating that “2026 is the year in which we regain lost ground in terms of self-sovereignty and lack of trust.”
Buterin expressed his concerns about the trend of sacrificing Ethereum’s values for mainstream adoption, saying “No more in 2026. Every compromise on values that Ethereum has made to date – every moment where you may have thought it was really worth diluting ourselves so much in the name of mainstream adoption – we are no longer making that compromise.” To reverse this trend, Buterin proposed several key improvements, including enhanced private payments, lower barriers to entry for users to run full nodes and decentralized apps, and improved social recovery wallets that protect funds if seed phrases are lost or extracted by an attacker.
Source: David Walsh
Buterin also highlighted the importance of upcoming upgrades, including the Kohaku release and the Glamsterdam fork, which are expected to address some of these issues. He emphasized that “It will be a long road […] But it will make Ethereum an ecosystem worthy of not just its current place in the universe, but a much larger one.”
A Self-Sustaining Ecosystem
Buterin emphasized the need for Ethereum to become self-sustaining, stating that it must pass the “walkaway test,” meaning it will become self-sustaining in the coming decades without developer influence. He said, “We should strive to say as quickly as possible that the Ethereum protocol as it stands today is cryptographically secure for a hundred years.” Buterin also called for improvements such as quantum resistance features, a more scalable architecture, and a better block formation model that can withstand centralization pressure.
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Decentralized Stablecoin Innovation
Buterin also emphasized the need for better decentralized stablecoins on Ethereum, which would give people true independence from governments and the traditional financial system. He proposed a stablecoin backed by a diversified basket of assets and currencies, rather than relying solely on a currency like the US dollar, so that its stability does not depend on a single nation.
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