Ethereum's Co-founder Suggests Simplifying Ethereum's Complexity to Match Bitcoin's Ease of Use
Let's Simplify Ethereum, Just Like Bitcoin
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin thinks it's high time for Ethereum to embrace a touch of simplicity, patterned after the uncomplicated brilliance of Bitcoin.
"What's so fantastic about Bitcoin is that its protocol shines with its radiant simplicity," Buterin declared in a blog post on May 3.
With a nod to the benefits that come with simplicity, Buterin proposed that Ethereum needs to share some of that sweet, simple vibe.
Make Ethereum palatable
The pros of simplifying Ethereum are manifold. It would make the protocol easier to wrap your head around, boost developer enthusiasm, and dramatically cut costs associated with building new infrastructure and tools.
It also promises to minimize long-term maintenance requirements and slash the risk of hairy bugs lurking in the code, not to mention reducing vulnerabilities to social attacks and special interests.
According to Buterin, there are three crucial areas for reduction: the Consensus Layer, Execution Layer, and syncing components across multiple protocol layers.
"The makeover of Ethereum's consensus mechanism opens up multiple chances to streamline the consensus, all while boosting efficiency and security," he added.
Revamping Ethereum consensus
Simplification possibilities include:
- Adopting a 'three-slot finality' design, which trims the fat off concepts like slots and epochs.
- Reducing the number of active validators to streamline fork choice rules.
- Using STARK-based aggregation to eliminate trust concerns.
Regarding the Execution Layer, Buterin brought up the complexities of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
"The EVM has been growing increasingly complex, and much of that complexity isn't essential," he asserted.
Buterin suggested a swap-out of the EVM with an open standard instruction set architecture like RISC-V, or another simpler virtual machine. This change is projected to boost performance by 100 times, slash complexity, offer improved developer tools, and expand code size capacities.
Lastly, Buterin pointed out that sharing a standard across different layers of the protocol stack could greatly reduce overall complexity. "The ideal scenario would have just one way to do stuff across the consensus, execution, and other layers," he said.
In a final note, Buterin argued that embracing simplicity was worth the investment, taking a cue from the quote that "democracy is a short-term expense for long-term benefits that aren't immediately visible."
ETH: on a bear run, but analysts remain optimistic
Ethereum has been facing a lukewarm reception from crypto investors this year, with market share plummeting to a record low of 7% in April. Prices have been bobbing just above $1,800 so far this month, but slipped below that mark in early morning trading in Asia on Monday.
At its current state, Ethereum remains in bear territory, down 63% from its 2021 all-time high, compared to Bitcoin, which is only 13% below its peak price this year.
Despite this, analysts are hopeful that ETH can stage a comeback this year with a new roadmap and impending upgrades.
Sources:
- Yahoo Finance
- BNN
- OriginTrail
- Forbes
- CoinDesk
- Adopting such changes in Ethereum's consensus mechanism, as proposed by Vitalik Buterin, could potentially streamline the process, boost efficiency, and enhance security, similar to the 'radiant simplicity' of Bitcoin.
- As Ethereum undergoes a simplification overhaul, it's projected that the performance of the network could be improved by a factor of 100, much like the performance benefits observed with the uncomplicated RISC-V instruction set architecture compared to the increasingly complex Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
- Simplifying Ethereum's blockchain technology would also reduce long-term maintenance requirements, minimize the risk of hidden bugs, and potentially decrease the network's susceptibility to social attacks and special interests, similar to the advantages associated with the straightforwardness of Bitcoin's protocol.
