Vitalik wants to make Ethereum ‘as simple as Bitcoin’ in 5 years

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin called for simplifying Ethereums base protocol, aiming to make the network more efficient, secure and accessible, drawing inspiration from Bitcoins minimalist design.In a blog post titled Simplifying the L1, published on May 3, Buterin laid out a vision to restructure Ethereums architecture across consensus, execution and shared components.This post will describe how Ethereum 5 years from now can become close to as simple as Bitcoin, Buterin wrote, arguing that simplicity is key to Ethereums resilience and long-term scalability.While recent upgrades like proof-of-stake (PoS) and Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge (zk-SNARK) integration have made Ethereum more robust, he said that technical complexity has led to bloated development cycles, higher costs and greater 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, allkindsofsecurityrisk, and insularity of RD culture, often in pursuit of benefits that have proven illusory.Buterin praises Bitcoin for its simplicity. Source: Vitalik ButerinRelated: Vitalik: An Ethereum Story is less about crypto and more about being humanEthereum eyes 3-Slot Finality to simplify consensusOne key area of focus is Ethereums consensus layer. Central to this effort is the proposed 3-slot finality model, which eliminates complex components like epochs, sync committees and validator shuffling.Thereduced number of active validators at a timemeans that it becomes safer to use simpler implementations of the fork choice rule, Buterin wrote.Other proposed improvements include allowing for more straightforward fork choice rules and adopting Scalable Transparent Argument of Knowledge (STARK)-based aggregation protocols to decentralize and simplify network coordination.On the execution layer, Buterin proposed a shift from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to a simpler, ZK-friendly virtual machine like RISC-V. This move could offer 100x performance improvements for zero-knowledge proofs and significantly simplify the protocol.RISC-V is an open-source instruction set architecture (ISA) used in designing computer processors. It follows a minimalist design philosophy, using a small set of simple instructions for high efficiency and easier implementation.To preserve backward compatibility, Buterin suggested running legacy EVM contracts onchain via a RISC-V interpreter while supporting both VMs concurrently during a transitional phase.Source: Vitalik ButerinRelated: Ethereum community members propose new fee structure for the app layerButerin calls for protocol-wide standardsButerin also advocated for protocol-wide standardization. He suggested adopting a single erasure coding method, serialization format (favoring SSZ), and tree structure to reduce redundant complexity and streamline Ethereums tooling and infrastructure.Simplicity is in many ways similar to decentralization, Buterin wrote. He suggested Ethereum adopt a max line-of-code target similar to what Tinygrad does, keeping consensus-critical logic as lean and auditable as possible.Non-critical legacy features would remain but reside outside the core specification.Buterins proposal aimed at simplifying Ethereum comes as the network continues to lose market share to competing blockchains.During a panel discussion at the LONGITUDE by Cointelegraph event on May 2, Alex Svanevik, CEO of data service Nansen, said Ethereums relative dominance among L1 blockchain networks has declined.If youd asked me 34 years ago whether Ethereum would dominate crypto, Id have said yes, Svanevik said during a panel discussion at the LONGITUDE by Cointelegraph event. But now, its clear thats not whats happening.Magazine:ZK-proofs are bringing smart contracts to Bitcoin BitcoinOS and Starknet