The developer emphasized that trustlessness depends more on simplicity than raw node counts or fault tolerance percentages
Ethereum News
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin argues protocol complexity threatens the network's core principles despite strong decentralization metrics. He published his concerns Sunday on X, warning that backward compatibility priorities have created unsustainable technical bloat.
The developer emphasized that trustlessness depends more on simplicity than raw node counts or fault tolerance percentages. Even networks with hundreds of thousands of validators fail when protocols become unwieldy masses of code requiring multiple forms of advanced cryptography, according to Buterin's assessment.
Protocol complexity creates three critical problems for Ethereum (ETH) infrastructure. First, users must rely on experts to understand system operations, undermining trustlessness. Second, high-quality client rebuilds become unrealistic if development teams disappear, failing the walkaway test. And third, technical users lose the ability to independently inspect or reason about network behavior, eroding self-sovereignty.
Current upgrade evaluation methods prioritize avoiding disruption to existing systems, which favors backward compatibility over efficiency. This decision-making framework creates a bias toward adding features rather than removing outdated ones, causing steady protocol expansion over time.
Buterin called for explicit "garbage collection" processes within Ethereum's development workflow. The approach would reduce total code lines, limit complex cryptographic primitives, and introduce more invariants, making client behavior easier to predict and implement across different development teams.
Past changes demonstrate effective cleanup potential, Buterin noted. The proof-of-work to proof-of-stake transition represented one major reset, while recent gas cost reforms replace arbitrary rules with clearer resource usage links. Future simplification could demote rarely used features from core protocol into smart contracts.
Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko disagreed with Buterin's eventual hands-off vision for blockchain development. He stated Solana (SOL) must remain in constant motion, arguing that networks that stop evolving to meet developer and user needs risk becoming irrelevant despite decentralization achievements.
Yakovenko claimed continuous iteration proves essential for Solana's survival even without single groups driving changes. His comments contrast sharply with Buterin's goal that Ethereum should eventually operate securely for decades without ongoing developer intervention, highlighting fundamental philosophical differences between major blockchain platforms competing for market dominance.
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