Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has disclosed a donation of approximately $760,000 in Ether to two crypto messaging apps that he views as pushing the boundaries of digital privacy.
Encrypted messaging apps, like Signal, are “important for preserving our digital privacy,” Buterin said in an X post on Wednesday, adding the next steps for the space should be permissionless account creation and metadata privacy.
Decentralized messaging apps Session and SimpleX Chat are “pushing these directions forward,” Buterin said, adding that he “donated 128 ETH to each” and encouraged users to try them.
Session has been designed to remove the usual identifiers and metadata that traditional messengers rely on, such as phone numbers, and it has no central servers.
SimpleX Chat also doesn’t rely on using a phone number and doesn’t assign users an identifiable ID, among other features.
Estimated to have a net worth of at least $737 million based on his crypto holdings, Buterin has frequently made donations to projects aligned with Ethereum’s values and has also donated to numerous charities.
The Importance of Digital Privacy in Messaging
Privacy in messaging apps has been a hot topic of discussion amid measures like the European Union’s previously proposed Chat Control, which wanted to force platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal to allow authorities to screen messages before they’re encrypted and sent.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Alexander Linton, president of the Session Technology Foundation, said the show of support is appreciated because there are many ongoing challenges to protecting digital privacy.
“Unfortunately, regulatory and technical developments are currently threatening the future of private messaging. However, the challenges private messaging faces are solvable, and I think Vitalik clearly understands the importance of decentralization in this fight,” he said.
“Everyone working on private messaging right now is living under some threat right now, due to regulation such as Chat Control, but this type of support helps us stay focused on the mission.”
Addressing User Experience and Security Challenges
Buterin also said both apps need to keep pushing for a truly optimal user experience and security, because strong metadata privacy requires decentralization, and “decentralization is hard, users expecting multi-device support makes everything harder.”
“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. I wish all teams working on these important problems best of luck.”
Sybil attacks occur when a bad actor creates multiple pseudonymous identities or nodes to gain control or an undue advantage within a peer-to-peer network.
Spreading Global Awareness for Decentralized Messaging
Chris McCabe, the co-founder of Session, told Cointelegraph it’s “amazing to know, as clear as day, that Vitalik and many people around the world understand what real privacy is, what people need to live freely.”
However, he also said spreading global awareness should be an important next step for encrypted, decentralized messaging.
“People are unconscious of what is going on with their data behind the scenes, and Session is a shining light to be like “HEY!-- You can actually have trustless privacy, it’s here now,” McCabe said.
“If there is one message that we can let the world know, it’s that you don’t need to be a product; you can be who you want to be and speak freely. Privacy is a right, you just need to know it.”