Vitalik's Vision for Decentralized Messaging — And Why Spritz Built on Logos
Just hours ago, Vitalik Buterin declared "The decentralized renaissance is coming" — and called on developers to buidl decentralized. This is exactly what Spritz has been doing.
"The Decentralized Renaissance Is Coming"
In a viral thread on X, Vitalik reflected on the original 2014 vision for Web3: permissionless, decentralized applications for finance, social media, ride sharing, and more — all built on three pillars:
| Technology | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Ethereum | The blockchain — shared memory for applications |
| Whisper | The data layer — messages that don't need consensus |
| Swarm | The storage layer — long-term file access |
His key message: all of these technologies are now production-ready.
"Ethereum is now proof of stake. Ethereum is now scaling, it is now cheap... Whisper is now Waku (docs.waku.org), and already powers many applications... All of the prerequisites for the original web3 vision are here, in full force. Hence, it's time to buidl, and buidl decentralized."
Vitalik specifically called out that Whisper evolved into Waku — the protocol that Spritz is built on (now part of the Logos technology stack).
A History of Advocacy
Vitalik Buterin has been vocal about the importance of decentralized communication infrastructure. From recognizing Waku as the successor to Whisper to donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to privacy-focused messaging projects, Ethereum's co-founder continues to champion the cypherpunk ideals that Web3 was built to realize.
This vision is exactly why Spritz chose to build on Logos Messaging.
"Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again"
In December 2023, Vitalik published a pivotal blog post titled "Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again". In it, he reflected on Ethereum's original vision — not just as a platform for financial applications, but as the foundation for a new kind of internet where users control their own data and communications.
He specifically called out messaging:
"Whisper received less attention after 2017... but it has since evolved into Waku, which is actively used by projects like Status."
Waku — now part of the Logos technology stack — represents the evolution of Ethereum's original peer-to-peer messaging vision. It's privacy-preserving, censorship-resistant, and designed to work on resource-constrained devices like mobile phones.
Why Decentralized Messaging Matters
Vitalik has consistently emphasized that strong metadata privacy requires deep decentralization. Traditional messaging apps — even those with end-to-end encryption — leak metadata: who you talk to, when, and how often.
In November 2025, Vitalik donated 128 ETH each (approximately $380,000) to Session and SimpleX Chat — two projects building privacy-first messaging without phone numbers or centralized servers.
The key insight: phone numbers are a surveillance vector. They reveal your location, enable blocking by country, and tie your identity to government-controlled telecom infrastructure.
Why Spritz Chose Logos Messaging
When we built Spritz, we faced a choice: use a convenient centralized messaging backend, or build on decentralized infrastructure that aligns with Web3 values.
We chose Logos Messaging (the production evolution of Waku) for several reasons:
| Requirement | Logos Messaging Solution |
|---|---|
| No phone numbers | Wallet-based identity |
| Censorship resistance | Peer-to-peer relay network |
| Privacy | Symmetric key encryption |
| Decentralization | No central servers to block |
| Mobile support | Light nodes for browsers/phones |
Spritz runs a Logos Messaging Light Node directly in the browser, connecting users to a global network of relay nodes. Messages are encrypted before transmission and delivered peer-to-peer — no central server sees your conversations.
The Broader Vision
Vitalik's support for decentralized messaging isn't just about privacy for its own sake. It's about building infrastructure that cannot be co-opted by authoritarian regimes.
As we highlighted in our Spritz × Alien partnership, 2.3 billion people in 17 countries face restrictions on messaging apps. Phone number-based identification is the primary vector for this censorship.
By combining:
- Logos Messaging for censorship-resistant communication
- Wallet-based identity for phone number-free authentication
- Proof of personhood (via World ID and Alien) for human verification
...we're building the communication infrastructure that Vitalik has been advocating for.
The Cypherpunk Future
Vitalik's "Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again" wasn't just nostalgia — it was a roadmap. The tools exist. The protocols are production-ready. Projects like Logos Messaging, Status, Session, and SimpleX are proving that decentralized messaging can work at scale.
Spritz is proud to be part of this movement. We're not just building a chat app — we're contributing to a future where human communication is peer-to-peer again.
No gatekeepers. No surveillance. No single point of failure.
That's the cypherpunk vision. That's what we're building.
References:
- "The Decentralized Renaissance is Coming" - Vitalik Buterin (Jan 2026)
- Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again - Vitalik Buterin
- Vitalik donates to privacy messaging - Cointelegraph
- Logos Technology Stack
- Waku Protocol