Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has delivered a message to the crypto industry: being open does not mean being uncritical.
In a wide-ranging interview, Buterin warned that crypto communities risk long-term damage if they blindly support powerful figures or projects simply because they boost prices or visibility. According to him, the hardest but most important task for crypto is learning what to support—and what to reject.
“Luna Was Not Built on Ethereum by Accident”
One of Buterin’s most striking remarks was about the collapse of Terra’s Luna ecosystem.
He said it was no coincidence that Luna was not built on Ethereum, suggesting that Ethereum’s culture and standards acted as a filter. While Ethereum is an open system, Buterin argued that communities still shape outcomes through the values they promote.
“You can’t prevent all bad behavior in open systems,” he said, “but you can refuse to encourage it.”
The Risk of Attracting the Wrong Crowd
Buterin explained that crypto is a high-variance space. It attracts some of the most thoughtful innovators—but also bad actors.
The danger, he said, is reputation. Once a community becomes known for welcoming anyone without scrutiny, it can quickly attract figures like Do Kwon, whose actions later damage trust across the entire industry.
“If you’re too ‘friendly,’ you don’t just attract builders,” Buterin said. “You also attract the worst players.”
A Sharp Criticism of Bitcoin Maximalism
Buterin reserved some of his strongest criticism for parts of the Bitcoin community.
He argued that Bitcoin supporters often unconditionally celebrate rich or powerful people who publicly back Bitcoin—without questioning their methods or political behavior.
As an example, he pointed to Nayib Bukele, whose government enforced Bitcoin adoption through a top-down mandate.
According to Buterin, many Bitcoin advocates ignored concerns about democracy and personal freedom simply because a country was “adopting Bitcoin.”
“When price goes down and adoption is forced,” he said, “the whole thing becomes unsustainable.”
Why Top-Down Crypto Adoption Fails
Buterin stressed that crypto works best when adoption is voluntary, not enforced.
In El Salvador’s case, he said, Bitcoin usage failed to grow meaningfully because people were required, not convinced, to use it. When prices fell, public support collapsed with it.
For Buterin, this was a lesson in how not to introduce crypto to society.
Ethereum’s Different Approach
Buterin said the Ethereum community has tried—though imperfectly—to take a different path.
That includes:
- Encouraging experimentation without glorifying bad behavior
- Calling out scams, hacks, and unethical conduct
- Avoiding blind loyalty to powerful backers
Ethereum, he argued, “dodged a bullet” by not becoming the home of certain high-risk projects.
What Can Actually Be Done?
Buterin was realistic. He admitted there are limits to what any open system can control.
But he said communities still matter:
- They can educate users
- They can refuse to celebrate harmful actors
- They can support responsible innovation
- They can work with regulators without abandoning decentralization
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