Ethereum’s new year started with renewed attention in the Milady NFT scene after a high-profile avatar switch by its most famous co-founder.
Vitalik Buterin’s New Year Avatar Movement and Market Impact
On January 1, 2026, Vitalik Buterineco-founder of Ethereumupdated his X (formerly Twitter) profile picture to a Mrs. Makerstyle image to ring in the new year. The avatar change reportedly took effect on 8:00 AM Beijing Time (UTC+0:00)which immediately caught the attention of the crypto and NFT community.
After the update, the bottom price of the Milady The NFT collection is outdated 50%. Moreover, the Mrs. Maker Trading volume skyrocketed +100% until almost $500,000underscoring how strongly market participants still respond to signals from leading ecosystem figures.
“Welcome to 2026! Milady is back,” Buterin wrote in his X-post, combining the avatar switch with reflections on Ethereum’s progress. That said, the price reaction highlighted the continued sensitivity of NFT markets to perceived endorsements and cultural signals from influential developers.
Ethereum milestones in 2025 provided the backdrop
In the same message, Buterin noted that Ethereum “a lot done in 2025.” He cited higher gas limits, increased number of blobs, and better quality of the node software as major improvements at the protocol level. Moreover, he emphasized that zkEVMs achieving key performance milestones throughout the year.
In addition to zkEVMs, Buterin pointed out PeerDAS as part of Ethereum’s biggest move to become a more fundamentally scalable network. The timing of the avatar change alongside these achievements naturally led to speculation that his choice of image could indicate broader plans for NFTs and data availability on Ethereum.
Previous avatar change and price response in early 2025
Buterin has a history of changing his avatars to support projects or just for fun, and these moves often turn heads. Early 2025the Ethereum co-founder also updated his X avatar to a Milady Maker NFT, coinciding with another sharp market move.
That previous change caused a significant increase in the collection’s floor price, which more than rose 50%. Furthermore, his decision sparked a substantial and heated debate over whether such visible profile changes could be interpreted as endorsements, and whether they could influence investor behavior in a way that raises ethical questions.
This latest switch has renewed concern among some observers about signals that could influence the situation mrs nft communal and speculative flows, even if Buterin’s stated intention was mainly a cultural nod and a New Year’s greeting.
What is Milady Maker and why it remains controversial
Launched indoors 2021, Mrs. Maker is a globally recognized non-fungible token project created by a digital asset company Remilia Corporation. The collection has become one of the most talked-about Ethereum-based PFP series, combining cult popularity with ongoing controversy.
The project features a limited edition of 10,000 generative PFP NFTs on Ethereum, defined by a ‘neohibi’ aesthetic from 2000s Tokyo. Additionally, the art emphasizes Y2K street style, where so-called ‘drip’ scores take precedence over traditional rarity metrics, making it stand out in a crowded NFT landscape.
Milady Maker has also gained fame through memes and occasional shout-outs from high-profile figures such as Elon Musk. However, recurring debates about community, knowledge and design philosophy have meant that the discussion about the collection often goes beyond just price promotions.
Beeple’s response and speculation on Ethereum-NFT alignment
Buterin’s latest avatar change quickly caught the attention of a prominent digital artist Beep. On January 2, 2026Beeple included a reference to the new Milady-themed avatar in his daily artwork, reinforcing the idea that cultural signals around Ethereum and NFTs remain powerful.
In the illustration, Beeple suggested that Buterin might be “cooking” something substantial Ethereum blockchain, which may involve the Milady Maker team. Furthermore, the image fueled market rumors that such a combination could herald deeper experimentation with NFT infrastructure, culture, or new applications on-chain.
Beeple captioned the piece “TIME TO COOK” and shared it on X, further fueling speculation that something bigger could emerge in the NFT ecosystem. That said, no formal collaboration or technical initiative has been publicly announced by either party to date.
Outlook for Milady and Ethereum’s NFT culture
The rapid movement in Milady’s price floor and trading volume further underscored how closely sentiment, culture and liquidity are intertwined in the NFT markets. However, without clear announcements, the latest avatar change remains best understood as a symbolic gesture rather than confirmed roadmap guidance.
For now, traders and collectors will likely continue to look to Buterin’s public signals, as well as artwork from creators like Beeple, for clues about Ethereum’s evolving NFT story. In summary, the episode shows how a single profile photo swapped by a major ecosystem leader can still move both conversations and capital in the digital art and collectibles space.