Vitalik Buterin Sounds Alarm on Ethereum’s Centralization Risk—Are Stateless Nodes the Fix?

Ethereum’s co-founder drops a truth bomb: The network’s creeping centralization could undermine its decentralized ethos. Stateless nodes emerge as the potential lifeline—but will they deliver, or is this just another ’decentralization theater’ for crypto’s Wall Street cosplayers?

Cutting through the hype: Stateless nodes promise lighter hardware demands, letting more users run full nodes. That’d be a win for decentralization—if the tech actually works at scale. Meanwhile, ETH whales keep stacking tokens like centralized banks hoarding gold.

The verdict? Ethereum’s at a crossroads. Nail this upgrade, and it cements its cred as the people’s blockchain. Miss the mark, and it becomes just another playground for the 1%—with extra steps.

Buterin’s push for stateless nodes

Vitalik Buterin is sounding the alarm on Ethereum’s growing reliance on centralized RPC services — third-party gateways that most users depend on to access the network.

While convenient, these services concentrate control in the hands of a few. It also opens the door to censorship, surveillance, and systemic risk.

Buterin argues this trend undermines Ethereum’s foundational ethos of decentralization.

To counter it, he’s advocating for stateless nodes — lightweight clients that don’t require storing the entire blockchain.

The goal is clear: make running a node as accessible as using an app, giving users more control and restoring Ethereum’s decentralized backbone.

Whale confidence grows

While Buterin champions a leaner, more decentralized Ethereum, the network’s largest holders are making bold moves of their own.

On-chain data shows that wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH are quietly increasing their stakes — a sign of strong conviction in Ethereum’s long-term value.

Source: X

The trend suggests that institutional players and HNIs view the current developments as strategic groundwork for the next phase of growth.

Price stalls as momentum cools

ETH price action has entered a period of consolidation following its sharp rally post-Pectra.

Source: TradingView

As seen on the chart, the coin hovered around $2,536 at press time. Recent candles reflected reduced volatility and volume.

The RSI sat just below overbought territory at 69.18, showing a potential pause or pullback. Meanwhile, the MACD showed a weakening bullish momentum, with the gap between the MACD and signal line narrowing.

The cooling phase suggests traders are in wait-and-see mode. Perhaps, they’re digesting recent gains as the market searches for its next directional cue.