Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has ignited a firestorm in the crypto world with his recent social media post, taking aim at what he calls "crypto villains." In an unexpected move, Buterin singled out figures like Mark Karpeles and Kyle Davies, labeling them as emblematic of a darker side of the industry.

In his post, Buterin mentions Mark Karpeles and Kyle Davies, two famous "crypto villains." The former is known for having purchased the infamous Mt. Gox exchange in 2011, in 2014 it went bankrupt, and in 2015 Karpeles was arrested by the Japanese police. As a result, he was under investigation for the next four years.

Davies co-founded the crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), which collapsed in 2022 after failing to meet its multi-billion dollar obligations. The fund's bankruptcy set off a chain reaction that is believed to have gotten to FTX, which eventually collapsed later that year.

Interestingly, Buterin believes that while Karpeles deserves a chance at forgiveness due to his current activities, Davies does not. The screenshots attached to the post by the Ethereum founder make it clear what he dislikes — it is the fact that Davies, after losing billions and ruining a lot of people's lives, continues to post his meme cryptocurrency deals and generally engage in cheap attention-grabbing activities.

This comes hot on the heels of the imprisonment of another notable figure in the crypto sphere, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the FTX exchange, who was sentenced to 25 years behind bars. FTX, once a titan in the crypto exchange arena, faced insolvency following revelations of financial instability and subsequent investor withdrawals.