Faced with rising tensions around information control, Vitalik Buterin takes a stand. The Ethereum co-founder makes decentralized social networks his priority for 2026, calling for an open, interoperable model free from commercial logics. This choice marks a strategic and ideological turning point, supported by concrete actions and a frontal critique of dominant platforms. Buterin no longer just codes the Web’s infrastructure but now wants to rethink how we exchange, debate, and share online.
A giant social network represented as a constellation of glowing nodes. The connections form a living and balanced web, symbolizing Vitalik Buterin’s decision to embrace decentralized networks. Vitalik Buterin announces he will exclusively adopt decentralized social networks starting this year. He will use Firefly, an interface gathering several protocols such as Lens, Farcaster and Bluesky.
This choice is part of a desire to break with centralized platforms and their algorithmic logics. Buterin advocates an open social Web, where users keep their data and identities. VITALIK MIGRATES TO AN INTEROPERABLE SOCIAL WEB Vitalik Buterin has officially announced a radical redirection of his social activity for the year 2026, after revealing a few days earlier the major reforms to come for Ethereum.
“In 2026, I will read and publish only via Firefly or other similar interfaces”, he announced, specifying that this decision is not a simple test but a definitive commitment. Firefly, developed by Mask Network, aggregates various Web3 social protocols such as Lens, Farcaster, X (formerly Twitter), and Bluesky. Its goal is to offer a unique interface built on shared and decentralized data layers, guaranteeing the user control over their posts, identity, and social graph.
Through this initiative, the Ethereum co-founder seeks to challenge the dominant models of centralized social networks. He calls for a more modular, competitive social Web aligned with users’ interests. For him, future social platforms must rely on the following principles: Client interoperability: enabling users to freely navigate between different networks via common interfaces; Data ownership: each individual keeps their credentials, content, and relationships, independently of the service used; The plurality of social experiences: different interfaces can offer specific views, algorithms, or filters while sharing the same data foundation; Reducing dependence on advertising logics: breaking away from economic models based on maximizing screen time.
This statement fits into a general vision carried by Buterin since Ethereum’s beginnings: extending decentralization to all critical internet infrastructures, including those that govern the circulation of ideas and opinions.
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