Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, called for the platform to move beyond its financial roots and take on the broader mission of building open systems that protect privacy, freedom and interoperability in an increasingly digital landscape.
In a post published on X, Buterin described these efforts as “shelter technologies,” decentralized infrastructure designed to protect users from government and corporate surveillance, geopolitical instability, and the expanding reach of artificial intelligence.
Ethereum’s founder acknowledged that the network has played a limited role in addressing these challenges directly, even as internal debates have shifted to how the platform can contribute to broader social and technological sustainability.
Buterin said financial independence remains a core value, but a limited focus on money applications cannot address the deeper concerns currently facing users around the world.
He pointed to the tools available, what he called the liberating infrastructure: satellite Internet services like Starlink, open local artificial intelligence models, the encrypted messaging service Signal, and crowd-sourced testing systems like Community Notes.
He argued that Ethereum should help create a collaborative digital environment where individuals and organizations can coordinate, store assets, and manage collective systems without depending on a centralized authority.
Such spaces may include payment networks, decision-making frameworks, and collaborative platforms that benefit each participant or institution.
Buterin emphasized that the network should not seek to completely reshape the world’s systems, an ambition that would require the kind of centralized power that runs counter to its decentralized design. Instead, Ethereum must work together with other open technologies to ensure stability and self-determination in a fragmented world.
Developers, he wrote, should work toward a comprehensive infrastructure stack, reaching up to user-facing wallets and applications and down to operating systems, hardware, and security layers.
