Vitalik Buterin calls for building open digital infrastructure
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has called for the creation of digital infrastructure built on openness and verifiability. In an essay published on Sept. 24, Buterin warned that closed systems lead to abuse, monopolies, and the erosion of public trust.
He noted that digitization now permeates every sphere of life, including finance, healthcare, education, and even government, yet much of it is dominated by big corporations whose products remain “black boxes.” In his words, “civilizations benefit not from consuming technology but from producing it,” making control over infrastructure a matter of sovereignty.
In healthcare, he pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic, when closed production processes and opaque communication around vaccines undermined public trust. As an alternative, he cited the PopVax project, where open protocols reduced costs and increased transparency.
Buterin also highlighted electronic voting. He argued that proprietary voting machines cannot earn public trust because no one can verify their integrity. In his view, the future must be built on systems that any user can inspect.
He described a long-term goal: building a fully open stack – from microchips and operating systems to civic applications. This would ensure that neither companies nor governments could secretly interfere with devices.
According to Buterin, the choice is between a centralized digital dictatorship and a decentralized infrastructure where trust is grounded in verifiable code and hardware.
In healthcare, he pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic, when closed production processes and opaque communication around vaccines undermined public trust. As an alternative, he cited the PopVax project, where open protocols reduced costs and increased transparency.
COVID-19 vaccination coverage. Source: vitalik.eth.limo
In finance, he contrasted a crypto transaction completed in five seconds for $0.10 with mailing a paper document for $119 and a 30-minute wait. “Open wallets and blockchains already show how inefficiencies can be eliminated,” he wrote.
Buterin also highlighted electronic voting. He argued that proprietary voting machines cannot earn public trust because no one can verify their integrity. In his view, the future must be built on systems that any user can inspect.
He described a long-term goal: building a fully open stack – from microchips and operating systems to civic applications. This would ensure that neither companies nor governments could secretly interfere with devices.
According to Buterin, the choice is between a centralized digital dictatorship and a decentralized infrastructure where trust is grounded in verifiable code and hardware.
