Vitalik Backs Session & SimpleX in Push for Metadata Privacy

• Buterin donates 128 ETH each to Session and SimpleX to support metadata-private messaging.
• Both apps face challenges balancing decentralization, usability, and Sybil resistance.
• Community reacts as Buterin links donation to broader Ethereum gas and throughput updates.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has expanded his long-running push for privacy in digital communication by issuing two equal donations of 128 ETH to encrypted messaging platforms working on permissionless onboarding and metadata protection. The contribution, directed to Session and SimpleX Chat, shows a growing focus on areas of messaging security that extend beyond conventional end-to-end encryption.

Buterin noted that the projects are developing features that remove account-creation barriers and limit the exposure of interaction patterns, timing, and related user traces. His action comes at a time when privacy-preserving communication tools are increasingly evaluated for how they shield the data that traditional encryption cannot cover.

Related: Vitalik Buterin Flags Institutional and Quantum Threats Facing Ethereum

In a post outlining the donation, Buterin noted that both platforms are experimenting with architectures designed to reduce identifiable markers. SimpleX uses one-way messaging queues without global identifiers, while Session relies on a distributed network of service nodes instead of central servers. According to Buterin, these designs aim to reduce visibility into who communicates, how often, and through which channels.

He also stated that the apps still face major challenges. Sustained metadata protection depends on decentralization, which introduces technical complexity and usability trade-offs. Multi-device support, which users expect from mainstream messengers, adds further obstacles.

Buterin pointed out that maintaining Sybil and denial-of-service resistance without linking accounts to phone numbers or other personal markers remains an unresolved challenge that requires broader engineering review.

Community Responds to Donation and Messaging Gaps

Following his announcement, users on X highlighted the symbolic nature of the 128 ETH contribution, noting that the number aligns neatly with binary structure, a detail seen by some commentators as reflecting Buterin’s focus on systemic privacy issues.

Others welcomed the attention on metadata protections and permissionless access, describing these layers as the most complex components in private communication systems. Meanwhile, Signal continues to introduce its own technical upgrades. Secure backup support recently became available on iOS, following an earlier rollout on Android.

The donation discussion followed separate remarks from Buterin regarding possible adjustments to Ethereum’s gas parameters. He referenced research showing improved throughput and noted ongoing plans for more targeted changes in 2026, including possible increases to gas limits and adjustments to specific operations such as storage creation, precompiled contract calls, and certain arithmetic opcodes.

Related: Vitalik Backs ‘Trustless Manifesto’ and Calls Time on Centralized Relayers