Buterin: Ethereum will stop making compromises that dilute its core identity

Ethereum (ETH) founder Vitalik Buterin stated on X that by 2026, the network will no longer make the kinds of compromises it has in the past. He argued that over the last ten years, Ethereum has regressed in many areas, with node operation becoming more difficult, decentralized applications (DApps) turning into complex behemoths, and block generation growing more centralized. Buterin emphasized that these were compromises made in the name of mainstream adoption that diluted Ethereum's identity. He predicted that 2026 will be the year Ethereum reclaims its lost status in terms of self-sovereignty and trustlessness. To achieve this, he highlighted several key objectives, including simplifying full nodes, implementing Helios, ORAM, and PIR, and advancing social recovery wallets, timelocks, privacy UX, censorship resistance, and application UI.