New architecture and protocol-wide standards to simplify, accelerate, and improve the maintainability of Ethereum were proposed by Vitalik Buterin.
A call was made by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin to simplify Ethereum’s base protocol, with the goal of enhancing the network’s efficiency, security, and accessibility, drawing inspiration from Bitcoin’s minimalist design.
In a blog post titled “Simplifying the L1,” published on May 3, a vision for restructuring Ethereum’s architecture across consensus, execution, and shared components was outlined by Buterin.
It was written by Buterin that the post would explain how, in five years, Ethereum could become nearly as simple as Bitcoin, emphasizing that simplicity is essential for Ethereum’s resilience and long-term scalability.
Recent upgrades, such as proof-of-stake (PoS) and the integration of Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge (zk-SNARK), have enhanced Ethereum’s robustness. However, it was stated by him that the growing technical complexity has resulted in longer development cycles, increased costs, and higher risks of bugs.
Historically, Ethereum has often not done this (sometimes because of my own decisions), and this has contributed to much of our excessive development expenditure, all kinds of security risk, and insularity of R&D culture, often in pursuit of benefits that have proven illusory.
Ethereum Targets ‘3-Slot Finality’ to Streamline Consensus Process
A key area of focus has been placed on Ethereum’s consensus layer. Central to this initiative is the proposed “3-slot finality” model, which removes complex elements such as epochs, sync committees, and validator shuffling.
It was written by Buterin that the reduced number of active validators at any given time makes it safer to utilize simpler implementations of the fork choice rule.
Other suggested improvements involve the adoption of more straightforward fork choice rules and the use of Scalable Transparent Argument of Knowledge (STARK)-based aggregation protocols, aimed at decentralizing and simplifying network coordination.
A shift from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to a simpler, ZK-friendly virtual machine such as RISC-V was proposed by Buterin for the execution layer. This change could result in a 100x performance enhancement for zero-knowledge proofs and greatly simplify the protocol.
RISC-V, an open-source instruction set architecture (ISA), is employed in the design of computer processors. A minimalist design philosophy is followed, utilizing a small set of simple instructions to achieve high efficiency and facilitate easier implementation.
To maintain backward compatibility, the running of legacy EVM contracts on-chain through a RISC-V interpreter was suggested by Buterin, with both VMs being supported concurrently during a transitional phase.
Buterin Advocates for Protocol-Wide Standards
Protocol-wide standardization was also advocated by Buterin. A suggestion was made to adopt a unified erasure coding method, a serialization format (with SSZ favored), and a standardized tree structure to minimize redundant complexity and streamline Ethereum’s tooling and infrastructure.
It was written by Buterin that simplicity is, in many respects, akin to decentralization. A suggestion was made for Ethereum to adopt a “max line-of-code” target, similar to the approach used by Tinygrad, aiming to keep consensus-critical logic as minimal and auditable as possible.
Non-critical legacy features would be retained but placed outside the core specification.
The proposal by Buterin to simplify Ethereum was made as the network continues to see a decline in market share to competing blockchains.
During a panel discussion at the LONGITUDE by event on May 2, it was stated by Alex Svanevik, CEO of data service Nansen, that Ethereum’s relative dominance among L1 blockchain networks has decreased.
It was stated by Svanevik during a panel discussion at the LONGITUDE by event that, “If I had been asked 3–4 years ago whether Ethereum would dominate crypto, I would have said yes. But now, it’s clear that this is not the case.”
