Buterin criticized X's feature that reveals the user's country.
Date: 2025-11-25 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
A new option on the social network X that automatically displays the country from which an account owner accesses the platform has sparked widespread discussion in the crypto community. Nikita Bir, X's product director, introduced the feature, emphasizing that it should increase transparency on the platform. However, the reaction from users and representatives of the Web3 industry was largely negative.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed particular concern. He stated that such disclosure of information without the prior consent of the page owner poses a security risk, especially for people working in sensitive jurisdictions. He argued that mandatory country display without the ability to opt out is a direct violation of fundamental privacy principles. Buterin later noted that such features should only be implemented if users themselves choose the extent to which they disclose their data.
Criticism also came from other prominent crypto market participants. Uniswap founder Hayden Adams called the update "forced doxxing," emphasizing that many industry participants strive to maintain a low profile by nature. Summer.fi CTO Andrey David supported this position, noting that privacy-related features should be as lenient as possible by default and not force users to disclose more than necessary.
However, alternative opinions were also voiced in the discussion. Some X users pointed out that the country itself does not always reduce anonymity, especially in large and densely populated countries. Representatives of certain analyst and venture capital firms suggested that the new feature could hinder faking participation in political discussions in other countries by making it more difficult to impersonate members of a foreign audience.
Amid heightened criticism, X's administration announced plans to expand privacy settings. Users were given the option to hide their country or change it to a more general region. As platform representatives noted, this decision is especially important for those living in countries with limited freedom of speech.
Vitalik Buterin emphasized that such changes should not be introduced suddenly or without notice. He reiterated that privacy protection is one of the key user demands, especially in the face of growing pressure on the crypto community from regulators.
Buterin has previously raised issues related to risks for Ethereum, pointing to threats from large token holders and the need to carefully consider the distribution of influence within the ecosystem.
