- Buy Crypto
- Markets
- Futures
- Spot
- Copy Trade
Earn- More
Vitalik: The key to Ethereum's long-term sustainable development lies in protocol simplicity and a "garbage collection" mechanism
BlockBeats News, January 18th, Ethereum founder Vitalik posted, stating, "An important aspect of 'trustlessness,' 'escape-hatch-freeness,' and 'sovereignty,' which has long been underestimated, is the simplicity of the protocol. Even if a protocol is super decentralized, with hundreds of thousands of nodes, and has 49% Byzantine fault tolerance, where nodes use quantum-secure peerda and stark to fully validate everything, but if the protocol is a clumsy mess composed of hundreds of thousands of lines of code and five forms of cryptic doctorate-level cryptography, ultimately the protocol will fail to pass all three tests: not fully trustless, not fully sovereign, and not very secure."
One concern I have about Ethereum protocol development is that we may be too eager to add new features to meet specific needs, even if these features make the protocol bloated, or introduce entirely new interactive components or complex cryptographic technologies as key dependencies. This may bring short-term feature upgrades, but it will severely compromise the protocol's long-term sovereignty. The core issue is that if we measure protocol changes based on "how much change to the existing protocol," then to maintain backward compatibility, adding functions will far outnumber removing functions, and the protocol will inevitably become bloated over time. To address this issue, Ethereum's development process needs a clear "simplify" / "garbage collection" mechanism.
We hope that client developers will no longer have to deal with all old versions of the Ethereum protocol. This can be left to older version clients running in Docker containers to handle. In the long run, I hope that Ethereum's pace of change will slow down. I think, for various reasons, this is ultimately inevitable. The initial fifteen years should be seen as a growth stage, where we explored many ideas and observed which ones were effective, which were useful, and which were not. We should strive to prevent those useless parts from becoming a permanent drag on the Ethereum protocol."
You may also like
Russia’s Largest Bitcoin Miner BitRiver Faces Bankruptcy Crisis – What Went Wrong?
Key Takeaways BitRiver, the largest Bitcoin mining operator in Russia, faces a bankruptcy crisis due to unresolved debts…
Polymarket Predicts Over 70% Chance Bitcoin Will Drop Below $65K
Key Takeaways Polymarket bettors forecast a 71% chance for Bitcoin to fall below $65,000 by 2026. Strong bearish…
BitMine Reports 4.285M ETH Holdings, Expands Staked Position With Massive Reward Outlook
Key Takeaways BitMine Immersion Technologies holds 4,285,125 ETH, which is approximately 3.55% of Ethereum’s total supply. The company…
US Liquidity Crisis Sparked $250B Crash, Not a ‘Broken’ Crypto Market: Analyst
Key Takeaways: A massive $250 billion crash shook the cryptocurrency markets, attributed largely to liquidity issues in the…
Vitalik Advocates for Anonymous Voting in Ethereum’s Governance — A Solution to Attacks?
Key Takeaways Vitalik Buterin proposes a two-layer governance framework utilizing anonymous voting to address collusion and capture attacks,…
South Korea Utilizes AI to Pursue Unfair Crypto Trading: Offenders Face Severe Penalties
Key Takeaways South Korea is intensifying its use of AI to crack down on unfair cryptocurrency trading practices.…
Average Bitcoin ETF Investor Turns Underwater After Major Outflows
Key Takeaways: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs hold approximately $113 billion in assets, equivalent to around 1.28 million BTC.…
Japan’s Biggest Wealth Manager Adjusts Crypto Strategy After Q3 Setbacks
Key Takeaways Nomura Holdings, Japan’s leading wealth management firm, scales back its crypto involvement following significant third-quarter losses.…
CFTC Regulatory Shift Could Unlock New Opportunities for Coinbase Prediction Markets
Key Takeaways: The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is focusing on clearer regulations for crypto-linked prediction markets,…
Hong Kong Set to Approve First Stablecoin Licenses in March — Who’s In?
Key Takeaways Hong Kong’s financial regulator, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), is on the verge of approving…
BitRiver Founder and CEO Igor Runets Detained Over Tax Evasion Charges
Key Takeaways: Russian authorities have detained Igor Runets, CEO of BitRiver, on allegations of tax evasion. Runets is…
Crypto Investment Products Struggle with $1.7B Outflows Amid Market Turmoil
Key Takeaways: The recent $1.7 billion outflow in the crypto investment sector represents a second consecutive week of…
Why Is Crypto Down Today? – February 2, 2026
Key Takeaways: The crypto market has seen a downturn today, with a significant decrease of 2.9% in the…
Nevada Court Temporarily Bars Polymarket From Offering Contracts in the State
Key Takeaways A Nevada state court has temporarily restrained Polymarket from offering event contracts in the state, citing…
Bitcoin Falls Below $80K As Warsh Named Fed Chair, Triggers $2.5B Liquidation
Key Takeaways Bitcoin’s price tumbled below the crucial $80,000 mark following the announcement of Kevin Warsh as the…
Strategy’s Bitcoin Holdings Face $900M in Losses as BTC Slips Below $76K
Key Takeaways Strategy Inc., led by Michael Saylor, faces over $900 million in unrealized losses as Bitcoin price…
Trump-Linked Crypto Company Secures $500M UAE Investment, Sparking Conflict Concerns
Key Takeaways A Trump-affiliated crypto company, World Liberty Financial, has garnered $500 million from UAE investors, igniting conflict…
Billionaire Michael Saylor’s Strategy Buys $75M of More Bitcoin – Bullish Signal?
Key Takeaways Michael Saylor’s firm, Strategy, has significantly increased its Bitcoin holdings by acquiring an additional 855 BTC…
Russia’s Largest Bitcoin Miner BitRiver Faces Bankruptcy Crisis – What Went Wrong?
Key Takeaways BitRiver, the largest Bitcoin mining operator in Russia, faces a bankruptcy crisis due to unresolved debts…
Polymarket Predicts Over 70% Chance Bitcoin Will Drop Below $65K
Key Takeaways Polymarket bettors forecast a 71% chance for Bitcoin to fall below $65,000 by 2026. Strong bearish…
BitMine Reports 4.285M ETH Holdings, Expands Staked Position With Massive Reward Outlook
Key Takeaways BitMine Immersion Technologies holds 4,285,125 ETH, which is approximately 3.55% of Ethereum’s total supply. The company…
US Liquidity Crisis Sparked $250B Crash, Not a ‘Broken’ Crypto Market: Analyst
Key Takeaways: A massive $250 billion crash shook the cryptocurrency markets, attributed largely to liquidity issues in the…
Vitalik Advocates for Anonymous Voting in Ethereum’s Governance — A Solution to Attacks?
Key Takeaways Vitalik Buterin proposes a two-layer governance framework utilizing anonymous voting to address collusion and capture attacks,…
South Korea Utilizes AI to Pursue Unfair Crypto Trading: Offenders Face Severe Penalties
Key Takeaways South Korea is intensifying its use of AI to crack down on unfair cryptocurrency trading practices.…
App