Overview
- The Foundation will back only open-source protocols that provide permissionless access and minimize centralized chokepoints and trusted third parties.
- Vitalik Buterin introduced a “walkaway test,” requiring protocols to keep working safely if founding teams disappear or become compromised.
- Buterin labeled oracle security and decentralization an urgent, systemic risk for DeFi and called for focused engineering attention.
- Privacy-preserving financial tools, including maximally private collateralized debt positions, are prioritized despite acknowledged technical difficulty.
- The roadmap emphasizes AI-assisted formal verification, audits, wallet safeguards, and open-source licensing and forkability, while Ethereum remains permissionless for deployments that do not meet these standards.