Buterin Pledges Full Return to Decentralized Social in 2026 as Lens and Farcaster Hand Off Stewardship

Overview

• The Ethereum co-founder says he will be fully active on decentralized social in 2026 after already routing all of his 2026 posting and reading through Firefly.
• Lens Protocol announced Mask Network will steward its next chapter, and Farcaster will transfer its protocol, code, app, and the Clanker launchpad to Neynar.
• Both original teams will step back from day-to-day operations, with Lens’ new leaders emphasizing consumer-grade execution and product design and Farcaster promising a builder-focused vision.
• Buterin criticizes token-driven social projects, arguing speculative coins reward popularity, create short-lived bubbles, and often fail within a couple of years.
• He urges the crypto community to spend more time on decentralized platforms and move beyond dependence on a single global information arena.