Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has recently called for a major reconsideration of the Ethereum protocol, aiming to simplify it considerably within the next five years.

Buterin’s proposal, outlined in his blog on May 3, 2025, argues the importance of returning to a simpler framework, similar to Bitcoin’s streamlined architecture. In his words:

“One of the best things about Bitcoin is how beautifully simple the protocol is.”
(Translation: Buterin advocates that simplicity is essential for Ethereum’s effectiveness and trustworthiness.)

He elaborates that maintaining a straightforward protocol enhances essential benefits that support Ethereum’s role as a globally trusted foundation.

According to Buterin, prioritizing simplicity means acknowledging initial costs that will, in the long term, yield greater rewards. He asserts that Ethereum’s complexity now necessitates specialized knowledge and teams for management and oversight, contrasting sharply with Bitcoin, which is accessible enough for a high school student to grasp.

Buterin suggests a revolutionary shift in Ethereum’s technical backbone by replacing its current execution engine, the EVM, with RISC-V, a minimalistic virtual machine that has been validated in various zero-knowledge projects.

His vision encompasses merging overlapping tools and leveraging more efficient cryptographic practices, aiming for Ethereum’s core to prioritize both flexibility and ease of comprehension. This recalibration is not merely technical; it aspires to preserve the foundational values that propelled Ethereum to prominence: openness, decentralization, and credible neutrality.

Key Takeaways

• Buterin’s strategy is gradual and intends to uphold Ethereum’s core principles while modernizing its structure.
• The simplification process is extensive, focusing not just on the technology itself but the ethos that has made Ethereum a significant force in the crypto sphere.