Vitalik Buterin Sells $15M in ETH, Backs FOCIL: Ethereum Strengthens Censorship Resistance
📋 En bref (TL;DR)
- FOCIL made official: Ethereum adds Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists to the Hegota upgrade scheduled for late 2026
- Censorship resistance: The mechanism forces the inclusion of all valid transactions within 1-2 blocks
- Vitalik’s sales: The co-founder has sold 7,380 ETH (~$15.5M) since early February at an average price of $2,100
- EIP-8141 synergy: FOCIL combined with EIP-8141 also protects smart wallets and privacy protocols
- Cypherpunk vision: Buterin wants to create a « cypherpunk Ethereum » integrated into the current system
Ethereum is reinforcing its commitment to decentralization and censorship resistance. Developers have officially added FOCIL (Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists) to the Hegota upgrade roadmap, scheduled for the second half of 2026. In parallel, Vitalik Buterin has sold over $7 million worth of ETH since early February, fueling debates about the co-founder’s motivations.
While Ethereum’s price remains under pressure with a 30% drop from its recent peak, these two news items reveal contrasting dynamics: on one side, a protocol strengthening technically; on the other, significant sales by its creator.
FOCIL: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?
FOCIL (Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists) is a technical proposal registered under reference EIP-7805. Its goal: to ensure that all valid transactions are included in the Ethereum blockchain, regardless of validator preferences.
Concretely, if a proposed block ignores valid transactions present in the inclusion lists, the chain can « fork » (split) and reject that block. This mechanism ensures that any transaction from the public mempool will be included within a maximum of a few slots (approximately 12-24 seconds).
The Censorship Problem on Ethereum
Some validators have in the past chosen to ignore transactions related to sanctioned addresses or controversial protocols like Tornado Cash. Even after U.S. sanctions on the latter were lifted, the risk of censorship at the validator level remains a major concern.
With FOCIL, Ethereum directly addresses this problem. « FOCIL enables fast and censorship-resistant inclusion of any transaction, » Vitalik Buterin explained on X.
EIP-8141: Synergy with Smart Wallets
Buterin emphasized the importance of combining FOCIL with EIP-8141, a proposal that makes smart accounts « first-class citizens » on Ethereum.
EIP-8141 notably encompasses:
- Multisig wallets
- Quantum-resistant signatures
- Key rotation
- Gas sponsorship (fee payment by a third party)
« With FOCIL and 8141 together, anything — including smart wallet transactions, gas-sponsored transactions, and even privacy protocol transactions — can be included on-chain by one of 17 different actors (the proposer or includers) who are all randomly chosen at each slot, » Buterin detailed.
Vitalik Buterin Sells $15.5 Million Worth of ETH
Alongside these technical advancements, Ethereum’s co-founder has sold over 7,380 ETH since February 2, 2026, totaling approximately $15.5 million. The average sale price was around $2,100.
The sales were executed via CoW Protocol, in small batches to minimize market impact. The most recent transaction saw 428.57 ETH exchanged for 850,178 GHO, Aave’s decentralized stablecoin.
Why Is Vitalik Selling?
These sales follow the Ethereum Foundation’s announcement of a period of « moderate austerity » to ensure its long-term viability. The funds are likely intended to finance development projects, charitable donations, or operational needs.
It’s important to note that Buterin has always been transparent about his sales and has regularly made donations to various causes, notably during the COVID-19 pandemic and for research projects.
Ethereum « Is Going Hard » According to Its Co-Founder
« Ethereum is going hard, » Buterin wrote to summarize these developments. His long-term vision is ambitious: to create a « cypherpunk and not ugly Ethereum » as an extension of the current system.
The term « cypherpunk » refers to the 1990s movement advocating for the use of cryptography to protect privacy and individual freedoms. This is precisely the philosophy that inspired the creation of Bitcoin, then Ethereum.
Criticisms of FOCIL
Not everyone is convinced. Ameen Soleimani, an Ethereum developer, expressed reservations: « When you create an EIP to solve the problem of filtering transactions with sanctioned addresses and your solution is to allow validators to impose constraints on builders by forcing the inclusion of transactions… we have a problem. »
The main concern: validators could be exposed to unforeseen legal risks if they are forced to include transactions linked to sanctioned entities.
Timeline and Next Steps
The Hegota upgrade, which will include FOCIL, is scheduled for the second half of 2026. Until then, developers will continue testing and refining the mechanism to ensure its robustness.
For Ethereum investors and users, these developments represent a significant strengthening of the network’s fundamental properties: decentralization, censorship resistance, and neutrality.
📚 Glossary
- FOCIL (Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists): An Ethereum mechanism that forces the inclusion of all valid transactions, preventing validators from censoring certain transactions.
- Ethereum: A decentralized blockchain platform enabling the execution of smart contracts and decentralized applications.
- Tornado Cash: A privacy protocol on Ethereum allowing transaction anonymization, formerly sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury.
- Stablecoin: A cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to a stable asset, typically the U.S. dollar.
- Cypherpunk: A movement advocating for the use of cryptography to protect privacy and individual freedoms.
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