Vitalik Buterin and Crypto Leaders Slam X’s Country-Display Feature

Highlights:

• Ethereum co-founder says that X’s new feature of showing users’ countries could put privacy and safety at risk.
• Other crypto figures also criticize and stress that users need consent and anonymity.
• Some supporters say it helps stop fake accounts, but opponents call for better options to opt out.

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum co-founder, expressed concerns about X’s (formerly Twitter) new feature that shows users’ countries. He said it could be risky and agreed with warnings from other cryptocurrency users. The feature has sparked discussions about privacy and possible risks for well-known investors. It was released worldwide on November 22. Users can see it in the “About This Account” section by tapping the signup date on profiles.

Buterin Agrees with Critics on Crypto Privacy Risk

On November 23, Vitalik Buterin mentioned in a post on X  that he thought more about it and agreed with critics. He said showing countries without user consent and without an opt-out is wrong. He also noted that while the feature could give insights into opinions in different regions, it might reveal sensitive information for some users.

Prediction about this "show which country the account is from" thing:

In the short term it will have lots of positive effects.

In the medium term, the sophisticated actors will find ways to pretend to be from countries that they are not. Lots of ways to rent individual people's…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) November 23, 2025

He also warned that the feature could be misused, as some accounts might pretend to be from different countries. He noted that while it could help understand community opinions, even small leaks could endanger users who value privacy.

Buterin pointed out that the risk is not the same for everyone. He said most users remain largely anonymous, but for some, even small leaks could be dangerous. Those users should not have their privacy removed without warning. “There are some people for whom even a few bits of leakage are risky, and they should not have their privacy retroactively rugpulled with no recourse,” he wrote.

Several crypto leaders have criticized X’s new mandatory feature. Uniswap founder Hayden Adams called it “psychotic,” saying optional sharing is fine but forcing it is wrong. Andrei David, CTO of Summer.fi, said making all users visible without consent is a problem. He added that privacy features should always start with the least revealing option.

Pretty much this. The problem isn’t showing country, it’s forcing everyone into visibility without notice. A privacy-sensitive feature should always start with the least revealing setting.

— Andrei David (@AndreiDavid) November 23, 2025

Experts Urge Careful Use as Social Transparency Clashes with Safety

Some users of the X network liked this addition. They explained that being geotagged in large nations provides no information at all. In a case in point, the United States has about 350 million citizens. To identify a person there, one has to know the state at least because being from the same country doesn’t necessarily identify them. Even the famous crypto investor, Nic Carter, liked this addition. However, the community remains alarmed about this addition.

The Twitter location dox is the first acknowledgment of something thought unthinkable in the west, that China figured out long ago – that we do not owe the whole world membership in our town square.

— nic carter (@nic__carter) November 23, 2025

Some users suggested ways to protect their privacy. After criticism, X’s product lead, Nikita Bier, explained that there is a toggle that lets users display only their region instead of the full country. While this is a step forward, privacy should be the default, not something people must activate themselves.

In a couple hours, we'll be rolling out About This Account globally, allowing you to see the country or region where an account is based. This will be accessible by tapping the signup date on profiles.

This is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town… pic.twitter.com/5d7cX21qGj

— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) November 22, 2025

X user “Langerius,” a leader at Web3 group Hunters of Web3, shared how users can protect their location. They said, “To hide your country, go to Settings & Privacy → Privacy & Safety → turn off country visibility, or choose region/continent instead.”