Ethereum [ETH] is changing, but not everyone seems to like where it’s going next.

While big money flows into staking, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is talking about privacy, local tools, and an internet that isn’t owned by platforms or algorithms.

So how does one handle it when the network’s biggest ideals start to clash with how it’s actually being used?

The pushback against the modern internet

In a recent post on X, Buterin urged developers to move toward a “sovereign web,” one that protects users from corporate data extraction, psychological manipulation, and closed platforms.

He took aim at what he called “corposlop”. In fact, he described today’s internet as a space dominated by sleek branding, dopamine-driven algorithms, and mass data collection that destroys user agency.

“Today, “sovereignty” also means… securing your own mind from corporate mind warfare trying to extract your attention and your dollars.”

He went on to add that sovereignty also means doing things because “you believe in them, and declaring independence from the homogenizing and soul-sucking concept of “the meta.”

This means building privacy-first, local tools that work for users.

Source: X

Meanwhile, a wallet linked to Buterin deposited 330 ETH, worth roughly $1.02 million, into Paxos. This move is on-brand for the tech founder, with his history of moving Ethereum [ETH] for operational, philanthropic, or ecosystem-related reasons.

While the debate around Ethereum’s ideals plays out…

… the money seems to have already made its choice.

Source: X

Institutions are piling into ETH staking, even with yields at near multi-year lows. BitMine alone has funneled over a million ETH into staking in just a month, so the entry queue is at levels not seen since 2023.

Source: X

At the same time, regulated products like Grayscale’s and 21Shares’ staking ETFs have begun paying out rewards. The current state of affairs is peculiar, yet notable: While the network has an identity crisis, big money has full faith.

But do the early believers truly want them there?

Final Thoughts

• As Buterin warns about “corpslop,” institutions lock up over 1 million ETH in staking.
• The network’s future depends on balancing big money and its own privacy-first ideals.