For years, Ethereum has been engaged in a relentless race towards complexity, multiplying features and technical layers. But today, Vitalik Buterin, its visionary co-founder, proposes a return to basics: simplifying the protocol to make it more readable, more stable, almost as simple as Bitcoin. A paradigm shift? Maybe. But above all, a vital necessity at a time when Ethereum wishes to remain the reference layer 1 for layer 2 solutions and the digital assets of the future. 

Back to simplicity: Vitalik Buterin’s crusade

The goal of Vitalik Buterin is clear: to make Ethereum a protocol understandable “by a smart high school student“. To do this, he wants to limit the critical code to the essentials, similar to Bitcoin. The 3-slot finality consensus is one of the keys to this simplification. This model eliminates complex components like epochs, synchronization committees, and validator reshuffling. Result: a simpler, more readable, and faster consensus than the current Gasper protocol.

Buterin points out that “a basic implementation of 3-slot finality fits in 200 lines of code“. Fewer lines of code means fewer bugs, wider developer involvement, and a reduction in technical elitism. 

Sassal.eth adds: 

A simplified L1 also makes solo staking more accessible.

RISC-V: Towards a Faster and More Universal Virtual Machine

The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) has become a technical nightmare: 256-bit architecture, useless opcodes, costly maintenance. Buterin proposes a radical leap: replacing the EVM with RISC-V, a simple and standardized virtual machine. This transition could offer performance gains estimated at x100 for zero-knowledge proofs (ZK), while reducing the need to maintain complex precompilations.

The transition would be gentle: an on-chain EVM interpreter would enable coexistence with the old contracts. Sassal.eth highlights the importance of this evolution:

We want tokens to be natively deployed on L1.

Key points:

• RISC-V is already used in many embedded processors;
• The RISC-V specification is ten times shorter than that of the EVM;
• Ethereum could remove most precompilations with this change;
• Eventually, Ethereum would natively understand only RISC-V, not the EVM.

Harmonization: a single standard for all Ethereum

Currently, Ethereum uses multiple serialization formats and Merkle tree structures. Buterin wants to unify these elements around SSZ for storage, transmission, and execution. He also proposes adopting a single error-correcting code for all functions (DAS, P2P, storage). The goal is to reduce duplication, maximize verifiability, and improve system readability.

Sassal.eth emphasizes the importance of this unification:

All digital assets should be natively issued on L1.

Buterin summarizes this vision by stating:

The goal is to move as much complexity as possible out of the consensus.

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Ethereum aspires to become a solid foundation again, a clear base for a broader ecosystem. By rethinking its layer 1, it hopes to attract developers, asset issuers, and restore trust. Buterin, already the author of a decisive plan for the survival of his own blockchain, thinks far ahead, and so does Sassal.eth. And while the world turns to layer 2 solutions, Ethereum strengthens its foundations to better remain the center of gravity of decentralization.