Vitalik: True trustlessness requires simplifying protocols so that more people can understand Ethereum

2025-12-17 17:20:11

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【CryptoWorld】Vitalik has proposed an interesting idea—true trustlessness actually means enabling more people to understand the entire protocol operation from start to finish. It sounds simple, but this is still a significant challenge for Ethereum. Why? Because the current protocol complexity is too high, and only a few people can truly grasp it.

His suggestion is quite straightforward: Ethereum should move towards simplification. This doesn’t mean cutting features, but rather maintaining powerful capabilities while finding ways to reduce code complexity, so that more developers, researchers, and even ordinary users can understand how the system works. In this way, the overall security and trustworthiness of the ecosystem will actually be stronger—because more eyes are watching, making issues easier to spot.

From another perspective, this is also a reflection on the future of Web3: true decentralization is not just about technical distribution, but also about the democratization of understanding.

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BoredStaker

· 12-19 13:41

Basically, it's about wanting more people to understand the code, so that they can truly trust it.

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ETH_Maxi_Taxi

· 12-19 10:32

That's right, simplifying the protocol definitely requires effort.

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OldLeekMaster

· 12-18 10:56

To put it simply, Vitalik's logic is sound, but actually implementing it is much easier said than done... The complexity of Ethereum has already exceeded expectations.

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ConsensusBot

· 12-17 17:50

That's right, Ethereum has indeed become incredibly complex now. True decentralization means even ordinary people can understand it, I agree with this logic.

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DaoResearcher

· 12-17 17:45

According to the logical reasoning in the white paper, there is actually an implicit key assumption here: can the democratization of cognition truly enhance security? It is worth noting that the game equilibrium of Vitalik's proposal has multiple solutions—simplifying the protocol does not necessarily increase trustlessness and may even introduce new attack surfaces. I suggest everyone read the related discussions on EIP before drawing conclusions. From the data performance perspective, the current distribution of validation nodes is already sufficiently decentralized. The bottleneck actually lies in the incompatibility of the incentive mechanisms, not in code complexity. But I must admit, this view is indeed quite passionate... I might have been overly rigorous.

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GasFeeLover

· 12-17 17:33

You're not wrong. Simplifying the protocol is indeed the most important thing for Ethereum right now.

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FarmHopper

· 12-17 17:22

That's right, simplification is the key. Currently, Ethereum is indeed a bit over-engineered. True decentralization should be understandable by everyone. Relying solely on faith to support it is not a sustainable solution.

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MetaMuskRat

· 12-17 17:20

That's right, simplifying the protocol is the true foundation of decentralization. Currently, the barrier to entry is indeed too high. Vitalik hit the nail on the head. Instead of piling on features, it's more important to clearly explain the system. Simplification ≠ censorship. Finding that balance is indeed difficult. When will ordinary people be able to understand Ethereum's code? That would be true democratization. High complexity makes it easier for oligarchs to monopolize discourse, and this logic holds. It sounds ideal, but practically, it might take two or three years to tinker with. Instead of modifying the code, we first need to change the mindset in the ecosystem of "only we understand."

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