Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin contributed 256 ETH to encrypted messaging apps

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin donated 128 ETH each to encrypted messaging apps, Signal and SimpleX Chat. He pointed out that both messaging platforms are advancing features like open account creation, along with improved metadata privacy.

He noted, “Session app and SimpleX Chat are two messaging apps pushing these directions forward. For this reason, I’ve donated 128 ETH to each.“

Apps like SimpleX and Session have gained prominence because they step outside standard end-to-end encryption to address “metadata privacy,” including who you interact with, when, and how often. SimpleX, for example, operates on one-way messaging queues with no global identifiers, while Session uses a decentralized network of service nodes, rather than a single server. This makes them attractive to security-conscious users and aligns with Vitalik’s long-standing advocacy for decentralization.

Vitalik agrees that the messaging apps are not yet perfect

Still, Vitalik stated that the messaging apps aren’t flawless and they have some distance to cover before they reach top-tier usability and security. Real metadata protection depends on decentralisation, which isn’t easy, and the demand for multi-device access only raises the difficulty.

He added, “Sybil / DoS resistance, both in the message routing network and on the user side (without forcing phone number dependence), adds further difficulty. These problems need more eyes on them.” 

A user on X pointed out that the 128 ETH donation is very on-brand for Vitalik. He noted that although it’s not a convenient number for humans, it’s perfect in binary terms—almost like he’s saying this is a structural privacy investment, not performative giving.

Other users also appreciated Vitalik’s contribution to metadata privacy and permissionless onboarding.  A user explained, “Huge respect for supporting the parts of private messaging most people ignore. Encryption is easy; metadata privacy and permissionless onboarding are the real boss fight. Session & SimpleX are far from perfect, but they’re tackling the hardest problems in the stack.”

The Signal app has already begun rolling out secure backups on iOS, allowing users to save their chats and restore them if their phone is lost or damaged. Android users got secure backups in September, with messages and media encrypted end-to-end. Each backup requires a 64-character key from your device, which Signal cannot recover if misplaced.

However, according to Forbes, the app has been a target for hackers. ThreatFabric researchers confirmed a new, particularly aggressive banking trojan on Android that surpasses standard malware. The malware, which is still in development, can bypass encrypted messaging.

So far, the hackers haven’t broken the encryption yet. Rather, they’ve built a complicated method that simply captures messages after you’ve decrypted them on your screen. State-affiliated actors and cyber mercenaries are abusing commercial spyware to infiltrate Signal and WhatsApp accounts, hijack devices, and quietly monitor key users.

Vitalik says Ethereum will move to targeted, goal-driven optimisation next year

Vitalik has lately also shared new thoughts on ETH, noting that Ethereum’s growth in the coming year will involve “more selective scaling.” He indicated that Ethereum will transition from broad-ranging scaling to targeted, goal-driven optimisation in the next phase.

He explained that Ethereum’s expansion will continue overall, but different areas will scale at varying rates. One idea he floated was increasing the block gas limit fivefold and matching that with higher gas costs for low-efficiency transactions. The idea is to strengthen the network’s ability to scale and encourage better optimisation of its resources.

Vitalik explained further that the proposal covers SSTORE when opening new storage slots, as well as several other SSTORE-related actions, precompiles other than elliptic-curve ones, large-contract calls, complex arithmetic operations, and calldata.

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