Vitalik Buterin warned of the dangers of power concentration brought about by technological advancements, proposing a "forced diffusion" of technology to preserve social structures without hindering innovation. He emphasized the need for a new approach to safeguarding freedom and democracy amidst the simultaneous expansion of technology, government, and corporate power.
Late last month, Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin published a lengthy essay titled "Balance of Power" on his official blog. He pointed out that the concentration of wealth and technology in the hands of a few is undermining traditional power balances, and he emphasized the openness and decentralization of technology as a solution.
"An era in which three major axes are strengthening simultaneously."
Buterin analyzed that three major powers—Big Government, Big Business, and Big Mob—are simultaneously growing in power without any checks and balances. He explained, "We love technological, economic, and cultural progress, but the three main drivers of that progress are also the most feared organizations."
According to him, the problem with modern society lies in the failure of the old balancing mechanisms as economies of scale lead to hyper-accelerated growth without countermeasures. Instead, he argues, automation, monopolies, and high barriers to entry are stifling change.
As an example, Buterin explained that video games, originally designed for "fun and achievement," have now degenerated into "money-making slot machines." He also pointed out that the cryptocurrency market has been increasingly concentrated since 2009, with more tokens going to insiders.
Defensive Acceleration to Counter Technological Hegemony
Buterin expressed concern that lobbying by large corporations was altering the regulatory environment and that powerful monopolies were shifting costs to society. He explained that even governments were being reduced to "participants" rather than "neutral designers" of the game.
In response, he proposed that power should be prevented from being concentrated in one place through principles such as libertarian liberalism, Hayekian goal-oriented philosophy, civil liberalism, and decentralization. Citing recent research showing that authoritarian governments lag behind institutionalized systems in economic performance, he emphasized the importance of institutional transparency and checks and balances.
Furthermore, he introduced the "fragile world hypothesis," which posits that if technology becomes too powerful, a small number of individuals or groups could inflict serious damage. As a countermeasure, he proposed "Defensive Acceleration (d/acc)." This approach aims to protect the entire system by developing defense technologies in an open manner, making them accessible to everyone.
Forced proliferation and adversarial interoperability
Buterin proposed a "mandatory diffusion" strategy as a core solution. This involves mandating technology sharing to prevent it from becoming monopolized, while maintaining innovation.
He cited Cory Doctorow's concept of "adversarial interoperability," and gave specific examples such as alternative social media clients with customizable filtering features, browser extensions that block AI content, and decentralized crypto-to-fiat exchange systems that bypass centralized financial networks.
He also mentioned Sci-Hub (a platform for sharing scientific papers), praising it as a good example of increasing fairness and accessibility in a closed academic and technological system. He proposed applying the EU's carbon border tax model, which taxes technology based on its degree of monopoly power and exempts open source from taxation, to technology.
Ethereum's internals also warn of "control by a small elite."
In line with these claims, Buterin also criticized Ethereum's complexity and centralization. On December 18th, he stated, "If the protocol becomes so complex that only a small number of experts can fully understand it, users will ultimately have no choice but to trust them."
In this regard, Péter Szilágyi, an early Ethereum developer, has revealed that Buterin and five to ten people around him "indirectly control" Ethereum, determining its funding and priorities. Szilágyi called this an "elite control structure," warning that key figures control the entire ecosystem as investors and advisors.
Buterin criticized Silicon Valley for shifting from its "decentralized potential model" (2013) to a "centralized power alliance" (2025) that collaborates with the government. He argued that this approach is closer to collusion than the pursuit of balance.
Ethereum network activity is at an all-time high.
Ironically, activity on the Ethereum mainnet has been picking up alongside Buterin's criticism. On December 29th, Ethereum recorded a record-breaking 2.2 million transactions, and the average fee dropped to 17 cents (approximately 246 won). This represents a dramatic drop from the May 2022 peak, when fees exceeded $200 (approximately 289,300 won).
This is thanks to the recently introduced 'Pectra' and 'Fusaka' upgrades, which increased gas limits and improved validator efficiency.
🔎 Market Interpretation
The concentration of technology goes beyond simple industrial problems and can lead to threats to democracy and individual freedom. Vitalik Buterin diagnosed this as a structural problem that extends across all sectors, including the IT industry, government, and blockchain.
💡 Strategy Points
"Adversarial interoperability" and "mandatory proliferation" are practical strategies to counter the closed approach of all platforms, and offer meaningful implications for the design of blockchain projects.
📘 Glossary
- Economies of scale: A structure in which larger companies or organizations can reduce their production costs.
Defensive Acceleration (d/acc): A strategy for simultaneous development of open defense technologies to reduce harm.
- Adversarial interoperability: Designing technology that can connect to existing systems without permission.
- Mandatory Diffusion: A method of forcibly distributing and disseminating technology to prevent it from being controlled by a few.
💡 Want to know more? AI-prepared questions for you:
A. Vitalik Buterin warns of the problem of excessive concentration of power as three major powers—governments, large corporations, and popular movements—grow stronger simultaneously. While natural counterbalances existed in the past to prevent this concentration of power, technological advancements have now disrupted these mechanisms, threatening democracy and individual freedom. To prevent this, he proposes "mandatory diffusion," the forced sharing of technology.
A. When power is concentrated in one place, that power can manipulate regulations or markets at will, harming society as a whole. For example, large corporations often incorporate slot-like mechanisms into video games to maximize profits, and cryptocurrency projects grow by distributing large tokens to insiders. Governments also run the risk of becoming players who enforce specific outcomes, rather than neutral rule-makers.
A. Mandatory diffusion is a method for forcing powerful technologies or systems to be shared with everyone, rather than being proprietary. A technique called "adversarial interoperability" allows new products to be connected to existing platforms without permission. Examples include alternative social media clients, AI content-blocking browser extensions, and the free sharing of scientific papers, as seen on Sci-Hub. It also proposes taxing closed technologies and rewarding open source.
A. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, points out the inherent complexity of Ethereum and the problems of control by a small number of experts. He emphasizes the need to maintain blockchain as a tool to check government and corporate power, much like the libertarian ideology of the past, and criticizes the recent trend of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs collaborating with the government. The Ethereum network has recently seen increased transaction volume and lower fees, leading to increased activity.
A. Technological advancement brings convenience, but the concentration of power can lead to the loss of individual choice and diversity. Vitalik Buterin believes that sustainable progress can only be achieved by opening up technology to everyone and strengthening defensive technologies to maintain a balance. This is a universal lesson that applies not only to cryptocurrencies but also to everyday platforms, science, and the economy as a whole.
TP AI Precautions
This article was summarized using a TokenPost.ai-based language model. Key points in the text may be omitted or inaccurate.
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