Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin defended his right to criticize applications built on the network while emphasizing that Ethereum remains permissionless regardless of his personal opinions.
The statement came amid ongoing debate over his use of the term "corposlop" to describe certain cryptocurrency projects.
Buterin's post on X clarified that users need not agree with his views on applications, trust assumptions, decentralized finance, artificial intelligence or personal preferences to use Ethereum.
He does not represent the entire Ethereum ecosystem, he stated.
Protocol Neutrality Versus Personal Opinion
The Ethereum founder distinguished between protocol-level neutrality and individual expression. Protocols like HTTP, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum should remain neutral infrastructure, Buterin argued, while people maintaining them can and should articulate clear principles.
"The whole concept of 'permissionlessness' and 'censorship resistance' is that you are free to use Ethereum in whatever way you want," Buterin wrote.
He added that criticism does not constitute censorship, comparing it to free speech principles where neither party can silence the other.
Buterin rejected what he called "pretend neutrality," where individuals claim equal openness to all perspectives while avoiding stating their own positions. Modern discourse requires clearly articulating principles and identifying incompatible examples through criticism, he argued.
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Context and Broader Debate
The statement follows Buterin's recent criticism of prediction markets and other applications as "corposlop," a term he uses for corporate-optimized products that prioritize profit over user empowerment. He has applied this critique to platforms like Polymarket despite being an investor.
Buterin used Linux as an analogy, noting the operating system powers both user-empowering applications and corporate infrastructure he opposes. Building ecosystems compatible with specific values remains necessary even when acknowledging others will use the same base protocol differently.
The post concluded that decentralized protocols cannot belong to a single vision, and alignment between individuals exists along multiple axes. Users can agree with him on some issues while disagreeing on others without affecting their ability to use Ethereum.
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