Vitalik Buterin discussed Ethereum’s current state, security concerns around data feeds, and development priorities he would pursue in 2026. The interview covered decentralization, oracle risks, and proposals for next-stage infrastructure.

Ethereum’s technical position and use case concerns

Buterin acknowledged that, technically, Ethereum has addressed scalability and transaction speed through layer 2 solutions and protocol upgrades. He warned that if the ecosystem remains primarily speculative and casino-like, general interest will fade and productive activity will decline, imperiling long-term relevance.

Decentralization as a counterbalance to centralized AI

He described Ethereum as a final defensive line against digitally centralized authoritarianism, arguing that decentralized money and accounts can limit centralized control. Blockchain-based assets could enable AI agents to own and trade value independently from traditional banking permissions.

Oracle vulnerabilities and data security

Buterin highlighted oracles as a systemic weak point, citing an incident involving Polymarket where erroneous data was published after an account compromise or mistake. He noted that reliance on fragile external feeds creates major security holes when large sums depend on single data points.

Three development priorities for 2026

If starting anew in 2026, Buterin would prioritize three directions for developer focus: building decentralized social networks that emphasize content quality over monetization; designing sophisticated DAO governance models linking voting power to reputation and contribution rather than pure capital; and creating stablecoins pegged not to the dollar but to real economic measures, such as consumer price indices or electricity prices, to provide genuinely stable money independent of Federal Reserve policy.