Vitalik Buterin makes decentralized social media a 2026 priority

The Ethereum co-founder urged broader adoption of open social platforms, saying decentralized social media can improve online communication by restoring competition.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said he plans to fully recommit to decentralized social media in 2026, arguing that only platforms built on shared, decentralized data layers can foster real competition and support mass communication systems aligned with users’ interests rather than engagement metrics.

In a Wednesday post on X, Buterin said he has shifted his activity toward decentralized social platforms this year, noting that every post he has written or read in 2026 has been accessed through Firefly, a multi-client interface that supports X, Lens, Farcaster and Bluesky.

“If we want a better society, we need better mass communication tools,” Buterin said, arguing that decentralization enables competition by allowing multiple clients to operate on a shared social data layer.

Read more