Ethereum Co-Founder Calls for Simpler Protocol to Boost Efficiency

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has called for a re-evaluation of the network’s design approach, advocating for a more minimalist and efficient structure. In a blog post published on May 3, Buterin argued that Ethereum should adopt a simpler protocol model, similar to Bitcoin’s, to enhance efficiency, scalability, and security.

Buterin described Ethereum’s current system as overly complex, warning that its technical depth increases costs, isolates research efforts, and raises the likelihood of serious bugs. He emphasized that the current design centralizes too much control among a small group of technically advanced contributors, which undermines the network’s decentralization ethos.

To address these challenges, Buterin proposes simplifying the protocol across all network layers over the next five years. He suggests that Ethereum draws inspiration from Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Buterin believes that simplifying the protocol will make Ethereum more resilient, reduce infrastructure costs, and lower the entry barrier for developers. He also concluded that simplicity should be treated as a core value, much like decentralization. He believes Ethereum must prioritize design choices that promote clarity, robustness, and long-term sustainability.

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To achieve this vision, Buterin highlighted three key areas where Ethereum can reduce complexity. First, he recommended changes to the consensus layer, particularly by streamlining the finality system and reducing the number of validators. These steps, he said, would lower operational costs and speed up network consensus. He pointed out that the consensus layer is loosely coupled with Ethereum’s execution system, giving developers more flexibility to implement improvements without breaking core functionality.

Second, Buterin focused on overhauling the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). He recommends introducing RISC-V, a simpler and more efficient computing architecture, as an alternative execution option. He also envisions a future where developers can write contracts using RISC-V alongside the EVM. Additionally, he suggested replacing precompiles with a canonical on-chain implementation and building a RISC-V-based EVM interpreter to support future upgrades with better maintainability.

Lastly, he called for standardization across protocol components. Instead of using different tools for similar functions, Ethereum could adopt one erasure code, serialization format, and Merkle tree. This unified approach would help reduce redundancy and enhance the network’s clarity. Buterin pointed out that there is typically very little or no benefit to using different protocols to do the same thing in different places, but such patterns appear anyway, largely because different parts of protocol roadmapping don’t talk to each other.