Ethereum co-founder slams Musk for 'coordinated hate sessions'
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The world's richest man, Elon Musk, is not only well-known for his tech leadership but also for his political views. Though his short-lived stint in the Donald Trump administration ended rather acrimoniously, he keeps wading into raging political debates of the day.
However, Musk's relentless denunciation of the European Union (EU) and X's operations under his leadership have drawn criticism from a visionary from the blockchain industry, Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
Related: Elon Musk’s X cracks down on employees taking crypto bribery
EU fines Elon Musk's X
It all began on Dec. 5 when the European Commission penalized Musk's X with a fine of $140 million for allegedly violating the Digital Services Act by not controlling hate speech and misinformation.
Following the directive, Musk sharply criticized the EU and reposted similar views by other accounts.
"Elon Musk is not the enemy of Europe. The European Union is the enemy of Europe," Musk reposted a conservative account's post on X.
Musk agreed with a post saying the EU isn't Europe and the 27-member bloc is merely "a bureaucracy setup by the socialists and communists."
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 7, 2025
The tech tycoon said, "The European Union is not DEMOcracy – rule of the people – but rather BUREAUcracy – rule of the unelected bureaucrat!"
He also blamed EU commissars for "the murder of Europe" and decried a pro-immigrant move.
The EU commissars are responsible for the murder of Europe https://t.co/xVJDn6P8tn
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 8, 2025
Musk used the opportunity to amplify the claim that X is gaining widespread popularity amid the EU's alleged attempt to censor the social media platform.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2025
"𝕏 is seeing record-breaking downloads in many countries in Europe," he wrote.
Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022 and rebranded it to X in July 2023. He has repeatedly said that he acquired the social media giant to make it a bastion of free speech and get rid of any political bias on the platform.
Ethereum co-founder criticizes detractors of Europe
Buterin is a Canadian computer programmer of Russian descent who is best known for co-founding Ethereum.
The blockchain legend said the recent criticism of Europe from people he considers "interesting and sophisticated" has been getting "unhinged."
He acknowledged that the continent has its problems, such as chat control attempts, a bureaucratic and unsupportive approach towards entrepreneurship, its double standards over Ukraine and other places like Gaza and Sudan, etc.
However, Buterin sharply criticized those "evoking imagery of barbarians pillaging Rome" with an "apocalyptic attitude" towards the condition in Europe.
"I don't believe the line that "the target is not Europe, it's the EU": I've seen many instances of London specifically being targeted in the hate session, so no, much of it is an attack on Europe)," he added.
The description of Europe by its detractors hardly reconciles with his experience of spending two months each year for the last decade, he added.
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Buterin slams Musk
Buterin tagged Musk and slammed him for first making X a "global totem pole" for free speech and then turning it into a "death star laser for coordinated hate sessions."
The transition is actually harmful for the cause of free speech, he added.
"I'm seriously worried that huge backlashes against values I hold dear are coming in a few years' time."
@elonmusk I think you should consider that making X a global totem pole for Free Speech, and then turning it into a death star laser for coordinated hate sessions, is actually harmful for the cause of free speech. I'm seriously worried that huge backlashes against values I hold…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 9, 2025
When a user asked Buterin if Musk should censor speech he disliked, the Ethereum co-founder claimed that Musk was "actively tweaking" algorithms to boost and deboost content based on pretty arbitrary criteria.
"As long as that power lever exists, I'd prefer it be used (without increasing its scope) to boost niceness instead of boosting ragebait."
In response to Buterin's post, an X user underlined the requirement for a "fair, privacy driven, and decentralised" social media.
