In his latest post, Vitalik argues that Ethereum has become too complex — and it’s time to go back to basics. His goal? Make Ethereum as simple and robust as Bitcoin.

Author: Vitalik Buterin | Date: May 3, 2025

Why Bitcoin is a model of simplicity:
Bitcoin is beautifully simple: blocks form a chain, each transaction is easy to verify, and even a smart high schooler can understand how it works. Developers can build a full client as a side project. This simplicity is what makes Bitcoin reliable and secure.

What about Ethereum?
Over time, Ethereum became bloated with roles, components, and logic. This increased development costs, complexity, and risk of bugs.

What Vitalik proposes:
– Streamline the consensus and protocol architecture
– Reduce the number of active validators
– Shorten and simplify the core protocol code
– Minimize the risk of bugs and social attacks
– Make it easier for more people to contribute and participate

Why simplicity matters:
Simplicity means:
– lower costs
– better security
– fewer bugs
– broader accessibility
– and long-term sustainability

Ethereum needs to simplify. Like Bitcoin. And Vitalik believes it’s possible within 5 years.

Read the original article: https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2025/05/03/simplel1.html