Vitalik Buterin Returns to Decentralized Social Media, Ethereum Founder Criticizes "corposlop" Platform

On January 21, news reports, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin publicly stated on X that he will fully return to decentralized social networks by 2026, viewing this as an important step to address the current structural failures of mainstream social platforms. He pointed out that the current centralized platforms driven by algorithms and focused on user stickiness are distorting information dissemination mechanisms, which is not conducive to society forming rational consensus.

Buterin believes that a healthier public communication system should prioritize high-quality content and serve users’ long-term interests, rather than being dominated by short-term click rates and emotional stimuli. He emphasized that the greatest value of decentralization lies in introducing genuine competition: when multiple clients are built on the same shared data layer, no single platform or algorithm can monopolize user attention.

He revealed that since early 2026, he has been almost entirely using Firefly for reading and writing, a tool that can connect to multiple networks such as X, Lens, Farcaster, and Bluesky. This cross-protocol experience allows him to intuitively feel how decentralized tools coexist with centralized platforms and gradually channel traffic toward more open social infrastructure.

When discussing crypto-native social projects, Buterin harshly criticized the “token万能论” (token万能 theory). He stated that many teams mistakenly believe that introducing speculative tokens equals innovation, but in reality, it often only amplifies existing social inequalities. Token price increases reward influence rather than content quality, ultimately leading to failure when bubbles burst. He bluntly said that this model is not the so-called evolution of the information market but more like a “corposlop.”

Regarding the future decentralized social ecosystem, Buterin is optimistic about the long-term investment the Aave team previously made in Lens, and he mentioned that the new team taking over the project has deep experience in crypto social traffic. He plans to speak more frequently on Lens this year and encourages users to explore decentralized platforms like Farcaster to break free from the constraints of a single global information field, aiming to build a more diverse and rational online interaction environment.