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The post Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin Criticizes Forced Bitcoin Adoption and ‘Anything Goes’ Crypto Culture appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has delivered a message to the crypto industry: being open does not mean being uncritical. In a wide-ranging interview, Buterin warned that crypto communities risk long-term damage if they blindly support powerful figures or projects simply because they boost prices or visibility. According to him, the hardest but most important task for crypto is learning what to support—and what to reject. “Luna Was Not Built on Ethereum by Accident” One of Buterin’s most striking remarks was about the collapse of Terra’s Luna ecosystem. He said it was no coincidence that Luna was not built on Ethereum, suggesting that Ethereum’s culture and standards acted as a filter. While Ethereum is an open system, Buterin argued that communities still shape outcomes through the values they promote. “You can’t prevent all bad behavior in open systems,” he said, “but you can refuse to encourage it.” The Risk of Attracting the Wrong Crowd Buterin explained that crypto is a high-variance space. It attracts some of the most thoughtful innovators—but also bad actors. The danger, he said, is reputation. Once a community becomes known for welcoming anyone without scrutiny, it can quickly attract figures like Do Kwon, whose actions later damage trust across the entire industry. “If you’re too ‘friendly,’ you don’t just attract builders,” Buterin said. “You also attract the worst players.” A Sharp Criticism of Bitcoin Maximalism Buterin reserved some of his strongest criticism for parts of the Bitcoin community. He argued that Bitcoin supporters often unconditionally celebrate rich or powerful people who publicly back Bitcoin—without questioning their methods or political behavior. As an example, he pointed to Nayib Bukele, whose government enforced Bitcoin adoption through a top-down…

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Filed under: News - @ January 24, 2026 2:30 pm