Vitalik Buterin calls on cypherpunks to oppose institutional control and focus on stablecoin privacy

On January 24, 2026, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin urged the cypherpunk community to push back against expanding government and corporate control, warning that major institutions aim for more oversight and less trust. He argued that Ethereum developers and cypherpunks should protect user autonomy while still interoperating with traditional institutions, and highlighted stablecoins as a key arena where privacy advocates will clash with authorities and corporations seeking strict control over issuance, wallets, and compliance.