Vitalik Buterin is back to criticizing the technical state of Ethereum. He argues that the protocol has become too complex and overloaded, creating a risk of centralization: if only a select few developers understand the code, the network ceases to be truly independent.
Buterin’s key argument is simple: if verifying system security requires a PhD, it cannot be considered decentralized.
“If the protocol is an unwieldy mess... it fails all three tests,” he wrote.
Such architecture jeopardizes the blockchain: if the current team of developers disappears, new teams won't be able to maintain the project at the same quality level. Moreover, feature bloat increases the risk of hacks — the more complex the system, the more vulnerabilities it carries.
Buterin Outlines Plan for Radical Ethereum Simplification
In his view, an ideal protocol should fit on a couple of pages of code, whereas currently, Ethereum adds more features than it removes. Instead of endlessly layering new functions on top of old ones, the network must shed dead weight and simplify its core parameters.
The most radical part of the plan is the possible replacement of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Buterin proposes demoting complex protocol functions by moving them to the application layer.
Key Ideas:
- Legacy transaction types will be removed from the network core. Next-generation wallets will process them independently.
- In the long term, the EVM itself may give way to the simpler RISC-V architecture.
- In this scenario, the current virtual machine would become just one of the smart contracts within the new environment.
“These first fifteen years should in part be viewed as an adolescence stage where we explored a lot of ideas. Now the pace of change needs to slow down. The network must mature, cut off ineffective solutions, and become a stable structure that can outlast any political regime,” Buterin stated.
Read also:
- Vitalik Buterin: Institutional Capture Threatens Ethereum
- Vitalik Buterin Grants Privacy Messengers Session and SimpleX
- Vitalik Buterin Tests Decentralized Google Docs Alternative
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