NEW POD @vitalikbuterin on the @greenpillnet podcast for a year-end deep dive into public goods funding in the @Ethereum ecosystem. Thx @devanshmehta for co-hosting. We discuss how the landscape has shifted from “vibes-based” funding to verifiable, dependency-driven mechanisms, and why this is the best moment to reform PGF using new tools like programmable cryptography, AI-assisted evaluation, and deep funding models. Vitalik shares how he thinks about dependencies, credible neutrality, open-source licensing, pluralism, accountability, ethereum localism, and what builders should prioritize in the coming year. 00:00 – Welcome to the Greenpill Podcast 01:50 – Vitalik joins: why public goods funding matters 02:19 – Why PGF is essential for decentralization 04:18 – The crypto spirit: censorship resistance, institutional design & funding 06:42 – The shift from vibes-era PGF to verifiable mechanisms 08:25 – Why 2026 is the best moment to reform PGF 10:19 – Where does PGF money actually come from? 12:45 – Open-source licensing, taxes & funding dependencies 17:34 – “Fund your dependencies” as a stable mechanism 19:35 – Why general-purpose QF doesn’t work in a chaotic world 21:59 – Bottom-up vs top-down: polycentric PGF 25:29 – How to create accountability loops in public goods 27:22 – Funding open-source as an Ethereum priority 29:31 – Privacy as a public good & why it’s upstream of PGF 31:54 – What OSS developers really think about crypto 33:52 – Mixing social outreach with financial support 35:56 – What should PGF builders focus on in 2026? 38:13 – Work with new projects, not legacy ones 39:44 – Ecosystem cycles & “layers of sediment” 41:39 – Yield-based funding (Octant) & treasury strategies 43:40 – Accountability: from vibes to rigorous mechanisms 47:35 – Motivation, feedback & the psychology of public goods 50:43 – Profit sharing licenses & sustainable PGF pools 53:46 – Security, issuance & public goods 56:12 – Technology, democracy & long-term risks 58:31 – How PGF relates to DIAC (Defensive/Decentralized Acceleration) 01:00:05 – Solving the free-rider problem without coercion 01:02:12 – Mechanisms vs coercion: credible neutrality 01:04:16 – Institutions, power & capture risks 01:06:16 – Individuals vs institutions in PGF 01:08:41 – Why PGF is more error-tolerant than governance 01:11:01 – Pluralism: many funders, many mechanisms 01:13:14 – Why diversity of funders is healthy 01:15:17 – What Vitalik wants built next 01:17:12 – Ethereum localism & real-world experiments 01:19:28 – What success in PGF looks like by end of 2026 01:24:28 – Closing thoughts