Vitalik Buterin Urges Ethereum to Focus on Long-Term Decentralization Goals in 2026
In a New Year address posted on January 1, 2026, Vitalik Buterin urged the Ethereum community to prioritize foundational decentralization goals over pursuing short-term trends throughout 2026.
He reflected on the 2025 achievements including increased gas limits, higher blob counts, improved node software quality, and milestones reached with zkEVMs and PeerDAS.
Buterin emphasized that these technical improvements must result in applications capable of operating without fraud, censorship, or third-party interference, and that they must pass the "walkaway test," meaning they should continue functioning even if developers disappear.
He raised concerns about Ethereum's current dependence on centralized services such as Cloudflare and stressed the importance of autonomy in decentralized applications.
When challenged by a zCloak Network developer on removing centralized RPC dependence, Buterin responded by framing Ethereum as a rebellion against centralized control aimed at restoring true autonomy.
He defended the ongoing use of Layer-2 solutions and a multi-layer approach, highlighting the need for base-layer usability at scale coupled with genuine decentralization across blockchain and application layers.
Ultimately, Buterin defined the overarching objective as building the "world computer" to serve as central infrastructure for a freer and open internet.
This message follows Buterin's December 2025 essay warning of concentrated power risks and a December 8 proposal for a trustless on-chain futures market for gas fees.
