Vitalik Buterin Aims to Simplify Ethereum Like Bitcoin

• Buterin proposes a simpler Ethereum inspired by Bitcoin.
• “3-slot finality” could make consensus leaner.
• The execution layer may shift to RISC-V for ZK performance gains.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has unveiled a vision to drastically simplify Ethereum’s core architecture over the next five years, drawing inspiration from Bitcoin’s minimalist approach. In a blog post titled “Simplifying the L1” published on May 3, Buterin emphasised that reducing complexity is key to enhancing Ethereum’s efficiency, security, and long-term sustainability.

“Ethereum five years from now can become close to as simple as Bitcoin,” Buterin wrote, outlining a series of architectural reforms focused on consensus, execution, and standardisation.

Simplifying Consensus and Execution

At the heart of Buterin’s proposal is the “3-slot finality” model, which aims to streamline Ethereum’s consensus mechanism by removing complicated components such as epochs and sync committees. This change would also allow for safer and simpler fork choice rules.

To further enhance the execution layer, Buterin proposed replacing the current Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with a zero-knowledge (ZK)-friendly virtual machine based on RISC-V architecture. This could lead to a 100x performance boost in ZK-proof generation and significantly reduce protocol complexity.

Legacy EVM contracts would still be supported through an on-chain RISC-V interpreter to ensure backwards compatibility during the transition phase.

Standardisation Across the Ecosystem

Buterin also recommended standardising various technical aspects of the Ethereum protocol, such as serialisation (favouring SSZ), tree structures, and erasure coding methods. This, he argued, would streamline infrastructure and tooling while reducing redundancies.

He likened simplicity to decentralization and proposed setting a “max line-of-code” limit to maintain lean, auditable, consensus-critical logic. Non-essential legacy features could be moved outside the core specification.

These changes come at a time when Ethereum is losing market share to faster and more user-friendly Layer 1 blockchains.

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