Buterin Lays Out Plan to Fight ‘Soulless’ Ethereum Centralization
Vitalik Buterin published an expansive new essay titled "Balance of Power" that warns of an emerging convergence of threats to Ethereum from what he calls Big Business, Big Government, and Big Mob. The post frames these forces as a collective risk to the network’s permissionless, resilient properties and argues that technical and social remedies are needed to avoid a shift toward a more ‘soulless’ centralized model. Buterin outlines a mix of protocol design choices, governance safeguards, and community norms intended to rebalance power without undermining usability. For ETH holders, builders and validators, the essay is a reminder that decentralization remains an active design objective rather than a finished state. The proposals could steer future discussions around upgrades, layer‑2 coordination, and how the ecosystem responds to regulatory and corporate pressures.