Vitalik supports open-sourcing the X algorithm but with conditions: a 1-year cycle is more reasonable than 4 weeks

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin supports Elon Musk’s plan to open-source X’s algorithm but also offers specific suggestions. He believes a 4-week update cycle is too aggressive, advocating instead for a 1-year cycle, and emphasizes that the entire mechanism must be verifiable and reproducible. This reflects Vitalik’s long-term commitment to algorithm transparency.

Musk’s Commitment and Vitalik’s Response

According to the latest news, Musk has promised to open-source X’s new algorithm within 7 days, repeating this process every 4 weeks with detailed developer documentation.

Vitalik responded that, if managed properly, this could indeed be a good approach. He highlighted two key requirements:

• The mechanism must be verifiable, meaning users can independently verify the correctness of the algorithm
• The mechanism must be reproducible, meaning the algorithm can be replicated by other platforms or researchers

4 Weeks or 1 Year, That’s the Question

Vitalik’s main objection concerns the update frequency. He believes a 4-week cycle is too aggressive, for straightforward reasons:

Algorithms need frequent adjustments to prevent users from exploiting loopholes, which means short cycles could lead to a “chase game.” Users discover vulnerabilities, platforms fix them, new vulnerabilities emerge, and so on. During this process, it’s difficult to ensure each adjustment is transparent and verifiable.

In contrast, Vitalik recently proposed a 1-year cycle in articles advocating for algorithm transparency. The benefits of this timeframe include:

• Allowing sufficient time for thorough audits and testing
• Enabling the community to conduct in-depth analysis and discussion
• Reducing system instability caused by frequent adjustments
• Making “transparency” a sustainable mechanism rather than just a formality

The Deeper Meaning Behind Transparency Demands

There is a larger context behind this statement. According to related information, Vitalik has recently emphasized transparency and user sovereignty across multiple topics:

From stablecoin design to privacy tools, from the “sovereign network” initiative to calls for open-source AI, Vitalik has been promoting a philosophy—that users should be able to understand, verify, and control the systems that affect them.

Within this framework, open-sourcing the X algorithm is not just a technical issue but also a matter of trust. An “open source” that cannot be verified or reproduced is essentially a black box.

Summary

Vitalik’s recent remarks highlight three core points:

First, he supports the direction of algorithm transparency, considering it a correct response to the long-term demands of the public.

Second, he offers technical suggestions for implementation, shifting from a 4-week to a 1-year cycle—not as opposition but as an optimization to make transparency truly feasible.

Third, this reflects his insistence on “verifiability”—transparency should not be one-way information disclosure but a fact that users can independently confirm.

For anyone concerned with algorithm governance, the value of this discussion lies in the fact that true transparency requires time, mechanism design, and sustainability. Rapid open-sourcing does not necessarily equate to genuine transparency.