Vitalik Says 2026 Is the Year to Ditch Big Tech: Bullish for ETH USD?

Ben Graham · 6 horas atrás

Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin said 2026 will mark a turning point, with users reclaiming control over their digital lives by ditching Big Tech software such as Google Maps and Gmail.

ETH USD is down -3% in the past 24 hours, following Vitalik’s statement, suggesting the market viewed it as a long-term signal rather than a short-term price catalyst.

The broader crypto market continues to struggle this week amid global macroeconomic issues, as the combined crypto market cap slipped below $3.1 trillion in the past few hours. A loss of the $3 trillion level would be problematic, as it acts as an established safety net for the market.

The comments by the Ethereum co-founder come amid OG figures refocusing on privacy and decentralization amid heightened regulation and institutional control over the digital asset space.

2026 is the year we take back lost ground in computing self-sovereignty.

But this applies far beyond the blockchain world.

In 2025, I made two major changes to the software I use:

* Switched almost fully to https://t.co/caFP0K5fYF (open source encrypted decentralized docs)
*…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 22, 2026

What Does Vitalik Mean by “Self-Sovereign Computing” After Ditching Gmail and Google Maps?

In a long X post, Vitalik Buterin references ‘Self-sovereign computing’ multiple times when discussing switching from centralized apps with minimal privacy measures to decentralized versions that support anonymity.

Vitalik said he had already replaced Gmail with ProtonMail, Google Maps with Organic Maps, and Telegram with Signal. He also uses Fileverse, which works like Google Docs but is open source and stores files in a decentralized manner. No central server. No silent data logging.

Why this matters: data leaks and government data requests keep rising. While Telegram only encrypts optional “secret chats,” Signal encrypts everything by default. One choice gives convenience, and the other gives full privacy controls.

This isn’t the first time the Ethereum co-founder has gone public in his backing of privacy-focused and decentralized apps, and in November 2025, he announced support for Kohaku, a suite of privacy-preserving crypto tools to enhance privacy and security in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Privacy matters. Today during @web3privacy, maestro @VitalikButerin highlighted #Kohaku, a new Ethereum framework focused on bringing real privacy to wallets. All 8mins! pic.twitter.com/WyefD2wauK

— gaudenzio.eth (@gaudenzio_eth) November 16, 2025

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Ethereum’s 2026 Push Goes Beyond Apps in Much-Needed Boost to ETH USD

This is not a personal lifestyle blog. It signals where Ethereum is heading. Buterin has warned that Ethereum leaned too hard on centralized services like Infura and Alchemy, which act as middlemen between users and the blockchain.

In 2026, Ethereum plans upgrades that let more people verify the network from their own devices. Tools like ZK‑EVMs and local nodes aim to reduce reliance on third parties. If that sounds abstract, here’s the simple version: fewer gatekeepers between you and your crypto.

That theme also shows up in Ethereum’s 2026 wallet changes, where developers want wallets to protect users even when apps fail or lie. This lowers the chance of silent failures that drain funds.

A push toward ultimate decentralization and a focus on privacy could be the much-needed spark for Ethereum’s price after a tepid few years in which any bullish momentum has been killed before it could really get going.

While Bitcoin made multiple new all-time highs in 2025, surpassing its 2021 high of $65,600 by around 90% as it soared to $126,000 in October, ETH USD only managed to beat its 2021 all-time high by $100, hitting $4,946 before rejecting hard at $5,000.

(SOURCE: TradingView)

Can Ethereum Replace Tech Giants Like Google With Shift to ‘Computing Self-Sovereignty’?

Users gain privacy and independence. Developers building open-source tools gain relevance. Big Tech loses visibility into user behavior. That shift threatens ad-driven business models.

There is also a cultural shift. Running software locally feels harder at first. But it removes single points of failure. One outage no longer locks you out of your digital life.

This vision matches Vitalik’s long-standing views on decentralization and plans for the Ethereum network. He has criticized power concentration before, including in his pushback against DAO governance dominated by whales. This is the same theme, but coming from a different angle.

Local AI models still require strong hardware. Self-hosted tools demand patience. Interfaces lag behind Big Tech polish, and usability remains the biggest barrier.

This is not a call to delete everything tomorrow. The likes of Google Maps and Gmail will remain staples for most people for some time yet. It is merely a roadmap, and early adopters will face friction. In a tale as old as time, mainstream users will only follow once tools feel familiar and easy to use.

Privacy remains a major talking point in crypto, with Vitalik and Ethereum at the forefront. 2026 could be the year when that shift goes beyond the blog posts on social media and actually starts being put into effect.

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