Vitalik Buterin Warned Institutions Play Both Sides of Privacy Debate

Key Insights Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin warned that governments and corporations seek control while quietly adopting privacy tools. He said institutions are neither reliable allies nor permanent enemies of cypherpunk ideals, but strategic actors optimizing for power. Buterin shared the comments on Jan. 24 while addressing growing debates over data sovereignty, encryption, and stablecoin governance source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2026/01/24/vitalik-buterin-warned-institutions-play-both-sides-of-privacy-debate/