Overview
- Institutions are neither guaranteed allies nor foes, as governments and corporations seek maximum control while resisting outside oversight.
- Stablecoins emerge as a primary arena for influence, with issuers likely preferring blockchains whose governance aligns with their home regions.
- Buterin expects stronger KYC pressure to continue alongside advancing privacy tools, including more attempts at zero-knowledge proofs of source of funds.
- Ethereum is framed as neutral, censorship-resistant infrastructure that enables competition with centralized services while permitting interoperability where useful.
- He urges pragmatic cooperation that protects user self-sovereignty, noting institutions will run their own wallets and staking in ways that can broaden staking decentralization.