Vitalik Buterin Warns Ethereum’s Future Depends on Simplifying Its Protocol

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has emphasized that the long-term survival of the Ethereum network depends on significantly simplifying its protocol, warning that excessive complexity could undermine decentralization and security. In a January 18 post on X, Buterin argued that Ethereum is becoming too dense for independent verification, which threatens the network’s core principle of sovereignty as a decentralized public good.

According to Buterin, the growing reliance on highly specialized, “PhD-level” cryptography and increasingly bloated protocol code risks pushing Ethereum toward a technocratic system controlled by a small group of experts. This trend could limit accessibility for developers and validators, weakening Ethereum’s resilience and decentralization over time. He stressed that a blockchain should be able to function securely even if its original creators and core researchers were to permanently leave the project.

To illustrate this concern, Buterin reiterated the importance of the “walkaway test,” a benchmark that measures whether a blockchain can continue operating safely without its founding team. He warned that Ethereum may currently struggle to pass this test because its protocol has become too complex for new teams to manage without deep, specialized knowledge. This complexity, he explained, is often the result of developers adding features to meet short-term needs, creating technical debt that can be highly destructive in the long run.

As a solution, Buterin proposed introducing an explicit “garbage collection” mindset into Ethereum’s development process. This approach would focus on actively removing obsolete code, unnecessary dependencies, and overly complicated components. He noted that garbage collection can be incremental, by streamlining existing features, or large-scale, by eliminating entire legacy systems that no longer serve the network’s goals.

Buterin pointed to Ethereum’s transition from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake as a successful example of simplifying the protocol by removing inefficient legacy mechanisms. Looking ahead, he suggested that Ethereum’s rate of change should slow over time, allowing the network to mature into a verifiable, automated settlement layer that prioritizes auditability over complexity. By doing so, Ethereum can remain secure, decentralized, and sustainable without relying on a centralized group of experts to maintain it.