Vitalik Buterin says ethereum has sacrificed way too many core values—like decentralization, privacy, and financial self-sovereignty—just to chase mass adoption. He stresses that this has to end now.

According to Vitalik, starting in 2026, Ethereum needs to zero in on reclaiming those lost values by:
- Boosting private payments.
- Making it easier to run nodes.
- Building truly decentralized apps that don't rely on centralized servers.
- Giving users better control over their data and assets.

Ethereum also needs to be tough enough to last for decades, even centuries, without depending on the dev team, while pushing decentralized stablecoins so users aren't tied to the traditional financial system.