Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum to Reclaim Decentralization in 2026
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said the network has compromised on decentralization, privacy, and self-sovereignty in pursuit of broader adoption, and called for an end to those trade-offs beginning in 2026. In a post on X on Friday, Buterin said 2026 should mark a year to reclaim “self-sovereignty and trustlessness,” stating that past compromises made in the name of mainstream growth should no longer continue.
Buterin outlined priorities to reverse the trend, including stronger private payments, lowering the barrier for users to operate full nodes, and ensuring decentralized applications do not depend on centralized infrastructure. He also advocated for greater on-chain privacy and tools that enable users to maintain direct control over their data.
Additionally, he called for improvements to social recovery wallets, intended to safeguard funds when seed phrases are lost or stolen by attackers.
Reflecting on the past decade, Buterin said the ecosystem has “backslid” in several areas, noting that running nodes has shifted from being easy to more complex, while dapps have evolved from simple static pages to large applications that expose user data to multiple servers.
Source: David Walsh
Buterin said upcoming changes, including the Kohaku release and the Glamsterdam fork, are expected to address some of these concerns. He cautioned that the process will take time, but argued it is necessary to position Ethereum for a larger role over the long term.
Buterin targets long-term self-sustainability
Earlier this week, Buterin said Ethereum should meet a “walkaway test,” whereby the protocol remains self-sustaining without developer intervention for decades. He added that achieving a state where “Ethereum’s protocol, as it stands today, is cryptographically safe for a hundred years” should be a near-term objective.
To reach that standard, he cited quantum-resistant features, a more scalable architecture, and a block-building design that better withstands centralization pressures as key areas for improvement.
Call for expanded decentralized stablecoin development
Buterin also urged further innovation in decentralized stablecoins to reduce dependence on governments and traditional finance. He suggested designs backed by a diversified basket of assets and currencies, rather than relying on a single currency such as the US dollar, to mitigate reliance on any one nation.
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