Vitalik: Crypto Requires Wealth-Building Financial Tools, Not Irresponsible Leverage Speculations

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has urged cryptocurrency developers to redirect their efforts towards creating tools that promote individual sovereignty instead of fostering extraction and irresponsible financial practices.

In a post on Farcaster addressing Monad KOL Tom Kruise, Buterin differentiated between “the open web” and “the sovereign web,” acknowledging Bitcoin maximalists for grasping this distinction well ahead of the wider industry.

Buterin contended that Bitcoin advocates resisted ICOs, alternative tokens, and arbitrary financial applications specifically to maintain sovereignty over what he refers to as “corposlop”, a term that characterizes platforms optimized for corporate gain at the expense of users.

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, shared on Farcaster that “Corposlop” is a mix of corporate optimization, polished branding, and conduct that sacrifices ethics for profit maximization. He advocated for the development of tools to support a “Sovereign Web,” such as…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 10, 2026

He called on the industry to create privacy-enhancing applications, wealth-building tools that avoid risky leverage, and AI systems that augment rather than replace human productivity.

From Government Control to Corporate Extraction

Buterin traced the trajectory of sovereignty from its early 2000s focus on evading government overreach to the contemporary challenge of resisting corporate manipulation.

He elaborated that modern sovereignty necessitates safeguarding digital privacy through cryptography while defending against what he termed “corporate mind warfare” intended to extract attention and financial resources.

The Ethereum founder stressed that sovereignty also involves pursuing projects rooted in genuine conviction rather than merely chasing “the meta”, the unifying forces that diminish individuality and purpose.

He advocated for privacy-focused, locally-first applications that limit data exposure to third parties and crypto applications designed to assist users in building wealth without promoting 50x leverage, sports betting, or loans for everyday purchases such as burritos.

Many are shifting towards launching a prediction market or a launchpad
It truly reflects the current climate when innovation is being supplanted by a desire to profit from gambling by replicating an existing model
This is detrimental to crypto.

— Kate Irwin (@kateirwin) August 27, 2025

Buterin broadened his critique to AI development, advocating for maximally open, privacy-conscious tools that integrate human and machine abilities instead of promoting passive dependence on automation.

He urged DAOs to support organizations pursuing distinct objectives rather than submitting to the same powerful factions, proposing that privacy-preserving and non-tokenholder-driven voting could help maintain autonomy.

The Corposlop Problem Threatening Crypto’s Soul

Buterin defined corposlop as the detrimental fusion of corporate optimization power, polished branding that creates an impression of respectability, and actions that contradict that respectability in the quest for maximum profit.

He pointed to social media platforms as prime instances, criticizing their dopamine-maximizing algorithms that prioritize short-term engagement over long-term value and satisfaction.

Source: UXMag

This critique also encompassed mass data collection practices followed by irresponsible management or outright selling to third parties.

Buterin described corposlop as “soulless trend-following homogeneity that is both evil and lame,” encompassing products that seem to benefit users while essentially disempowering them.

He specifically mentioned walled gardens like Apple’s ecosystem for obstructing cross-platform linking, although he acknowledged the company’s focus on privacy and its principled long-term vision.

“I have many reservations about Apple, but aside from their monopolistic practices, they actually possess numerous non-corposlop attributes,” Buterin remarked, commending their resistance to trend-following while urging them to abandon monopolistic behaviors and adopt open source strategies.

Building Toward True Digital Independence

Buterin urged developers and investors to invest their energy into social media platforms that empower users with content curation control while focusing on long-term aspirations rather than immediate urges.

“Be sovereign. Reject corposlop and believe in somETHing,” he proclaimed, framing the challenge as both a technical and philosophical endeavor.

This sovereignty post follows recent writings by Buterin where he argued that Ethereum must prioritize bandwidth scaling over latency reduction due to physical and decentralization challenges.

This challenge emerged as Ethereum achieved technical advancements addressing the blockchain trilemma through zero-knowledge EVMs and PeerDAS technology, resulting in a 110% increase in new addresses since December’s Fusaka upgrade.

Vitalik Buterin states Ethereum has resolved the blockchain’s trilemma with ZKEVMs and PeerDAS technology now operational on the mainnet after a decade of development. #Ethereum #Buterin https://t.co/cUzlhhO6Xr

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) January 4, 2026

Buterin also recently defended Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, who faces up to five years in prison after prosecutors framed software development as criminal activity.

Storm, co-founder of the privacy protocol, renewed calls for public support this week, with Buterin’s involvement underscoring the stakes in safeguarding crypto’s foundational principles against regulatory pressures.

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