Vitalik Buterin outlines two-layer blockchain design and creator coin incentives in February 2026

On February 2, 2026, Vitalik Buterin described a two-layer structure for future blockchains to improve governance, incentives, and on-chain social media. He differentiated an open, profit-driven market layer from a decentralized, intrinsically motivated base layer that avoids token-based control and collusion. Buterin also revisited creator coin models, highlighting ongoing challenges in content quality and incentives while ETH traded below $2,300 during a market correction.