According to CoinMeta, Vitalik Buterin called for increased trust in hardware and privacy protection at the opening ceremony of Devcon. He stated, "If it's not your silicon chip, then it's not your life." Buterin emphasized that data should be regarded as "toxic waste" and raised a core question: Who should we trust to manage our devices, health data, communications, and artificial intelligence? He advocated for the use of open-source code, verifiable hardware, form validation, and cryptographic proofs to reduce blind trust in companies or influencers.