Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has sharply criticized a controversial betting market launched by Polymarket, calling it a “violation of a person’s privacy and dignity.” The criticism comes after the decentralized prediction platform approved a market allowing users to bet on whether Tiffany Fong, a prominent crypto influencer, would become pregnant—specifically referencing rumors involving Elon Musk.
Betting on Speculation: Musk, Fong, and AI Images
On April 17, Polymarket listed the speculative bet following a Wall Street Journal report that Elon Musk had asked Tiffany Fong to bear his child. In a move that has sparked widespread backlash, the platform used an AI-generated image of a pregnant Fong standing in front of the White House, a likely nod to Musk’s current political influence in the U.S. government.
Buterin, posting from his official @vitalik.eth account, did not mince words:
“fwiw I personally think this is tasteless and violation of a person’s privacy and dignity.”
— Vitalik Buterin (@VitalikButerin), April 16, 2025
Behind the Rumor
According to reports, Musk had been in contact with Fong over several months via Twitter and private messages. The alleged request for a child was met with refusal from Fong, who claimed that Musk subsequently unfollowed her and her revenue-sharing deal with Twitter collapsed.
She later confided in Ashley St. Clair, another woman who reportedly shares a child—Romulus—with Musk and is now involved in a legal battle with him. The combination of leaked DMs and insider accounts has fanned public speculation across tabloids and social media.
Who Is Tiffany Fong?
Tiffany Fong rose to prominence during the collapse of FTX, where she published her private interviews with Sam Bankman-Fried, then CEO of the failed exchange. Her reporting was later cited in the Department of Justice’s indictment against Bankman-Fried. Though she brands herself a “reluctant crypto journalist,” her outspoken presence on Twitter has made her a recurring subject of online gossip.
In January 2024, Fong pushed back against internet jokes pairing her romantically with Buterin, tweeting:
“please stop posting about vitalik & me.”
— @TiffanyFong_, January 17, 2024
Polymarket’s Controversial History
Polymarket has a reputation for capitalizing on controversy. The platform has previously hosted bets on war outcomes, such as whether Israel would invade Syria or the duration of California’s wildfires. These events have drawn scrutiny from regulators including Singaporean authorities and the CFTC.
Despite the backlash, Polymarket continues to allow public wagers on sensitive geopolitical and personal topics, raising ongoing ethical and legal questions about the limits of decentralized prediction markets.
Final Thoughts
As Web3 platforms like Polymarket push the boundaries of free-market betting and decentralization, the ethical cost of monetizing real-life human drama becomes increasingly hard to ignore. Buterin’s criticism highlights the growing tension between crypto’s experimental culture and the demand for basic respect and boundaries in public discourse.
