Ethereum’s creator, Vitalik Buterin, has shared a bold new vision for the blockchain: make it simpler—much simpler. In a recent blog post, Buterin laid out a long-term roadmap to reduce Ethereum’s growing technical complexity and bring it closer to the straightforwardness of Bitcoin, all while keeping its powerful features intact.
Over the years, Ethereum has evolved into a highly sophisticated network capable of running smart contracts, decentralized apps, and zero-knowledge proofs. But that power has come at a cost. According to Buterin, the protocol has become too complicated to easily understand or work with, especially for new developers.
“Even a smart high school student is capable of fully wrapping their head around and understanding the Bitcoin protocol,” Buterin wrote. “A programmer can write a client as a hobby project.” Ethereum, by comparison, has become far more difficult to follow.
Where Things Got Complicated
Ethereum’s base layer now includes intricate components like the beacon chain, with mechanisms such as epochs, slot shuffling, and sync committees. These features are essential for Ethereum’s current proof-of-stake system, but they’ve added layers of complexity that make the network harder to maintain and more fragile.
Buterin also pointed to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the environment where Ethereum apps run, as a target for simplification. His long-term goal is to phase in a new, lightweight virtual machine like RISC-V—an open-source architecture known for its simplicity and efficiency, especially useful in zero-knowledge cryptography.
How It Could Work
Rather than a sudden overhaul, Buterin proposes a gradual transition. The existing EVM and a new virtual machine could operate side-by-side, allowing developers to adapt without breaking the existing ecosystem. Legacy features would slowly be moved into areas of the network that don’t affect consensus, reducing the risk of introducing bugs or security vulnerabilities.
His message is clear: if Ethereum is to thrive long-term, it needs to be not only powerful but also understandable and sustainable.
