Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has declared that the ecosystem's foundational principles of decentralization, privacy, and self-sovereignty have been compromised in the pursuit of mainstream adoption, and this trend must be reversed.
"2026 is the year that we take back lost ground in terms of self-sovereignty and trustlessness," Buterin posted to X on Friday.
"In 2026, no longer. Every compromise of values that Ethereum has made up to this point - every moment where you might have been thinking, is it really worth diluting ourselves so much in the name of mainstream adoption - we are making that compromise no longer."
Key Areas for Improvement Identified by Buterin
To address these concerns, Buterin outlined several critical areas for improvement within the Ethereum ecosystem. He emphasized the need for enhanced private payment solutions, a reduction in the technical barriers for users to run full nodes, and the development of decentralized applications (DApps) that do not rely on centralized server infrastructure.
Furthermore, Buterin highlighted the importance of empowering users with easier control over their on-chain data. He also called for advancements in social recovery wallets, designed to protect user funds in cases where seed phrases are lost or compromised by malicious actors.
"In many of these areas, over the last ten years we have seen serious backsliding in Ethereum," Buterin stated. "Nodes went from easy to run to hard to run. Dapps went from static pages to complicated behemoths that leak all your data to a dozen servers."
Buterin indicated that upcoming network upgrades, including the Kohaku release and the Glamsterdam fork, are anticipated to tackle some of these persistent issues.
"It will be a long road [...] But it will make Ethereum into an ecosystem that deserves not only its current place in the universe, but a much greater one."
Buterin Advocates for Ethereum's Long-Term Self-Sustainability
Earlier in the week, Buterin articulated his vision for Ethereum to pass the "walkaway test," signifying its ability to remain self-sustainable and resistant to developer influence for decades into the future.
"Being able to say 'Ethereum’s protocol, as it stands today, is cryptographically safe for a hundred years’ is something we should strive to get to as soon as possible," he remarked.
Buterin identified several key improvements necessary for Ethereum to withstand the test of time. These include incorporating quantum resistance features, developing more scalable architecture, and establishing a superior block-building model that actively resists centralization pressures.
Call for Innovation in Decentralized Stablecoins
Buterin also issued a call for enhanced innovation in decentralized stablecoins on the Ethereum network. He believes that robust decentralized stablecoins are crucial for providing users with genuine independence from governmental control and the traditional financial system.
He proposed the concept of a stablecoin backed by a diversified basket of assets and currencies. This approach, he suggested, would prevent its stability from being solely dependent on a single nation's currency, unlike models that rely exclusively on assets like the US dollar.