In broad discussion on crypto's future, Vitalik Buterin warns political tokens 'are vehicles for unlimited political bribery'

Quick Take

  • In a wider discussion on the cryptocurrency industry’s trajectory, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin noted that political tokens can enable “unlimited” bribery.
  • Buterin notes that certain parts of the industry chafe against each other for their short-term and long-term value, drawing comparisons between “hyperaddictive cellphone games” and chess.  

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin posted on social media Thursday that political tokens can lead to "unlimited" bribery.  

Buterin's comments were part of a broader discussion on the crypto industry's trajectory, especially as powerful political leaders like President Donald Trump embrace cryptocurrency. Buterin noted that certain parts of the industry chafe against each other for their short-term and long-term value, drawing comparisons between "hyperaddictive cellphone games" and chess. 

"Over the last year, we have been entering a new order," Buterin wrote on X. "Now, the most powerful people in the world are cheering on the idea of anyone creating tokens for anything, at any scale. And so now is the time to talk about the difference between sugar-high short-term fun that is unwise to recommend to newbies, and long-term fulfillment and wealth-building. It is not about 'fun is bad,' it is about the equivalent of modern hyperaddictive cellphone games, versus chess or World of Warcraft."

"Now is the time to talk about the fact that large-scale political coins cross a further line: they are not just sources of fun, whose harm is at most contained to mistakes made by voluntary participants, they are vehicles for unlimited political bribery, including from foreign nation states," he continued. 

Two large-scale political coins unveiled recently are TRUMP and MELANIA, both tied to President Trump and first lady Melania Trump. Both tokens launched ahead of Trump's inauguration as the 47th United States president on Jan. 20 and experienced major price crashes soon after, The Block previously reported.


Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020 — joining just before bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for the publication, covering any and all crypto news but with a penchant toward NFT, metaverse, web3 gaming, funding, crime, hack and crypto ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. You can follow MK on X @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.

Editor

To contact the editor of this story:
Lawrence Lewitinn at
[email protected]

WHO WE ARE

The Block is a news provider that strives to be the first and final word on digital assets news, research, and data.

+ Follow us on Google News
Connect with the block on