Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin on Political Tokens

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, particularly as influential political leaders like President Donald Trump embrace cryptocurrency. He pointed out that different parts of the industry often compete regarding their short-term and long-term value, comparing them to “hyperaddictive cellphone games” versus chess.

“Over the last year, we have been entering a new order,” Buterin wrote on X. “Now, the most powerful individuals across the globe are endorsing the concept of anyone creating tokens for anything, at any scale. Thus, it is essential to discern between sugar-high short-term fun—which isn’t advisable for newcomers—and long-term fulfillment and wealth-building. It’s not that ‘fun is bad’; it’s about the contrast between modern hyperaddictive cellphone games and chess or World of Warcraft.”

He further elaborated, stating that large-scale political coins cross a significant threshold: they become instruments for unlimited political bribery, potentially involving foreign nation states, beyond just being sources of fun with limited harm to voluntary participants.

Two recently introduced large-scale political coins are TRUMP and MELANIA, both associated with President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. These tokens launched just before Trump’s inauguration as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, experiencing significant price drops soon after, as previously reported by The Block.