Vitalik Buterin's vision on simplifying Ethereum: key to lasting decentralization

According to information from Foresight News, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has recently presented a fundamental proposal for the future of the network: to incorporate explicit mechanisms for simplification and “garbage collection” into protocol development. This stance marks an important shift in Ethereum’s evolutionary strategy, emphasizing that simplification is not a luxury but a strategic necessity to achieve true decentralization.

Three Pillars for Protocol Simplification

Buterin proposes a set of concrete criteria to guide this simplification. First, he suggests significantly reducing the protocol’s lines of code, with the ambitious goal of fitting it into one or a few pages. This conceptual compression is not merely aesthetic: it facilitates comprehensive review by developers and auditors.

Second, he urges minimizing dependence on highly sophisticated technical components to ensure system security. When a protocol relies solely on a single hash function or advanced cryptographic mechanisms as its security foundation, it creates a critical vulnerability point. Simplification involves distributing these risks across multiple layers of more elementary verification.

Third, he proposes increasing the fundamental attributes of the protocol rather than adding peripheral features. This approach reduces the attack surface and improves long-term maintainability.

The Hidden Risk: Complexity vs. Security and Autonomy

A central argument that Buterin emphasizes is often overlooked: even if a protocol exhibits extraordinary technical decentralization — with hundreds of thousands of validator nodes and a Byzantine fault tolerance of 49% — all that architecture fundamentally fails if the code is unintelligible.

When the protocol’s complexity exceeds the capacity of qualified engineers to inspect and understand it in depth, users lose their ability to exercise genuine control. True autonomy requires cognitive transparency: network participants must be able to trace, validate, and understand the rules governing their participation.

Buterin also warns about how architectural complexity amplifies security risks. Intricate interactions between different modules generate unforeseen attack surfaces. Each additional layer of abstraction exponentially multiplies potential failure points.

The Growth Dilemma: New Features vs. Stability

As Ethereum positions itself as a global infrastructure, there is constant pressure to add new functionalities. However, Buterin expresses concern that this uncontrolled pursuit of innovation could lead to protocol “bloat,” compromising its long-term stability and the true autonomy of its users.

His recommendation is countercultural: adopt a more deliberate and cautious update pace that allows for in-depth analysis and significant improvements at each phase. This means prioritizing consolidation and refactoring over continuous capacity expansion.

Towards a More Sustainable and Reliable Ethereum

Buterin’s proposal on simplification transcends pure technical optimization. It represents a reflection on what true decentralization means: a system that any technically competent participant can audit, understand, and, if necessary, fork independently.

By deliberately reducing redundant complexity and eliminating features that do not contribute to the network’s fundamental purpose, Ethereum will not only improve its current security but also build a more resilient foundation to face future challenges. Simplification, in this vision, is not a step backward but the true compass toward lasting decentralization that defines Ethereum’s promise.