“Ethereum Is Neutral — I’m Not”

Vitalik Buterin has reignited debate about decentralization, neutrality, and free expression within the crypto industry, declaring that while Ethereum is permissionless and censorship-resistant, he himself is free to criticize applications built on it.

Vitalik Buterin draws line between protocol neutrality and personal principles

In a lengthy post on X, Buterin emphasized that users do not need to agree with his personal views, whether on DeFi, privacy-preserving payments, AI, politics, or even his tongue-in-cheek preference for Berlin cuisine and ISO date formatting, in order to use Ethereum (ETH).

“I do not claim to represent the whole Ethereum ecosystem,” he wrote, stressing that Ethereum’s core principle is neutrality at the protocol level. Anyone can build or transact on the network without seeking approval from him, the Ethereum Foundation, or client developers.

However, Buterin drew a sharp distinction between protocol neutrality and personal neutrality.

“If I say your application is corposlop, I am not censoring you,” he said, arguing that open systems rely not only on permissionless infrastructure but also on open criticism.

The “grand bargain” of free speech, he suggested, is that while no one can shut down an application built on Ethereum, everyone retains the right to publicly critique it.

Buterin argued that neutrality belongs to infrastructure protocols like HTTP, Bitcoin, or Ethereum, but not necessarily to individuals or communities. Builders and thinkers, he said, should have the courage to articulate their principles clearly, even if that includes criticizing projects they believe conflict with Ethereum’s ethos of freedom and user empowerment.

He extended the analogy to Linux, describing it as a technology rooted in user empowerment that nonetheless underpins applications some supporters may dislike. The solution, he argued, is not to abandon neutrality at the base layer, but to actively build value-aligned ecosystems on top of it.

Buterin’s comments arrive at a time when debates over “corposlop,” commercialization, AI integration, and the ideological direction of crypto are intensifying.

His message appears aimed at clarifying a recurring misconception: Ethereum does not “belong” to any one worldview, but neither are its most prominent voices obligated to remain silent about theirs.

In short, Ethereum is neutral. Its co-founder is not.