Can Ethereum in 2026 regain its sovereignty? Buterin sketches a new blueprint for privacy and security

【BitPush】Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently shared a thought-provoking view on social media: 2026 will be a pivotal moment for Ethereum to reverse its situation in self-sovereignty and trustlessness.

His plans are ambitious. By introducing ZK-EVM and BAL technologies, Ethereum will significantly lower the barrier to node operation, allowing more people to independently participate in network validation. Meanwhile, after the launch of the Helios validation system, RPC data will become more trustworthy, and users will no longer need to blindly trust third-party service providers.

Privacy protection has also been emphasized. The application of ORAM and PIR technologies means users’ on-chain activities will gain better privacy shields, and transaction details will no longer be transparent and visible. Additionally, the launch of social recovery wallets and time lock mechanisms adds new lines of defense for fund security—even if private keys are lost, users can regain control through social networks.

Buterin also mentioned improvements to on-chain UI and IPFS applications. These seemingly minor optimizations are actually driving the entire ecosystem toward greater decentralization.

He candidly admits that Ethereum has made compromises in certain areas over the past decade. Node operation has become complex, applications rely on centralized services, and data privacy has been neglected—these issues have surfaced. The future path is to correct these compromises and return to Ethereum’s core values. Although this will be a long process, once completed, the entire ecosystem will become more robust and truly decentralized.