Vitalik Buterin proposed a new plan to simplify the Ethereum protocol
He shared this in a blog post titled “Simplifying the L1” on May 3, 2025. He said Ethereum should aim to become “close to as simple as Bitcoin” within five years.
Buterin stated that simplifying the Ethereum base layer would help reduce costs and security risks. He admitted that earlier decisions, including his own, increased technical complexity and created inefficiencies.
“Historically, Ethereum has often not done this (sometimes because of my own decisions),” he wrote. Buterin pointed to the negative effects of overengineering, including delays and increased risk of bugs.
3-Slot Finality Proposed to Simplify Ethereum Consensus
Vitalik Buterin proposed 3-slot finality to streamline the Ethereum consensus process. This change would remove existing elements like epochs, sync committees, and validator shuffling.
3-slot finality reduces the confirmation process to three voting rounds within three slots, where validators first propose a block, then vote on it twice to confirm and finalize it. This model removes complex elements like epochs, sync committees, and validator shuffling, aiming to lower protocol complexity, improve safety, and allow for faster and clearer block finality across the Ethereum network.
With fewer validators active at a time, the fork choice rule becomes simpler to implement.
“The reduced number of active validators at a time means that it becomes safer to use simpler implementations,” Buterin wrote.
He also proposed using STARK-based aggregation protocols. These are cryptographic systems that allow validators to prove and bundle large amounts of data, such as votes or transactions, into a single proof that others can quickly verify. In Ethereum, these protocols let any participant act as an aggregator without needing trust-based roles or preassigned committees. By removing sync committees and relying on STARKs for coordination, Ethereum can achieve decentralized, efficient validation with reduced overhead, making the network easier to scale while keeping it secure.
Ethereum Execution Layer May Shift to RISC-V
Buterin wants to change the Ethereum execution layer. He proposed replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with RISC-V, which is a minimal instruction set architecture. RISC-V may help improve performance in zero-knowledge proofs, which are used in Ethereum’s privacy and scalability features.
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is the core component that executes smart contracts on Ethereum. It was designed specifically for the Ethereum network and uses its own set of instructions tailored to blockchain logic. The EVM supports features like account storage, gas metering, and deterministic execution, but its complexity has grown over time. This makes it harder to verify with cryptographic proofs, especially for advanced systems like zero-knowledge proofs.
RISC-V, on the other hand, is a general-purpose, open-source instruction set architecture (ISA) commonly used in computer processors. It follows a minimalist approach with a small, consistent set of instructions, making it easier to implement and verify. Vitalik Buterin proposed using a ZK-friendly virtual machine based on RISC-V to simplify Ethereum’s execution layer. This shift could support faster zero-knowledge proof generation and reduce the overall complexity of the protocol, while legacy EVM contracts could still run via a RISC-V interpreter during the transition.
He estimated that using RISC-V could offer a 100x performance boost for zero-knowledge systems. This shift could simplify Ethereum’s codebase and improve speed.
To maintain compatibility, Ethereum would continue to support the EVM during a transition phase. Old contracts would run using a RISC-V interpreter, ensuring no break in functionality.
Vitalik Buterin Calls for Ethereum Standardization
Vitalik Buterin also stressed the importance of standardization within the Ethereum protocol. He proposed unifying key technical components such as erasure coding, serialization format, and Merkle tree structure to simplify the network and reduce unnecessary variation across implementations.
Erasure coding is a data protection method used to ensure that information can be recovered even if some parts are lost or corrupted. In blockchain systems like Ethereum, it helps store and transmit data more efficiently and securely. Using a single erasure coding method would make data handling more consistent across the network, reducing errors and improving compatibility between different Ethereum clients.
Vitalik named Simple Serialize (SSZ) as the preferred serialization format. Serialization refers to the process of converting complex data structures into a format that can be stored or transmitted and later reconstructed. SSZ is a format developed specifically for Ethereum 2.0, optimized for simplicity, performance, and compatibility with Merkle proofs. Standardizing on SSZ would make it easier for developers to build and maintain tools that interact with Ethereum data.
He also recommended using a single Merkle tree structure. A Merkle tree is a data structure that breaks down large sets of information into smaller pieces, where each leaf or node contains a cryptographic hash. This allows efficient and secure verification of data without storing all of it directly. Ethereum uses Merkle trees to prove the validity of transactions and states. A uniform tree structure would help Ethereum clients verify and synchronize data more reliably.
In addition to technical standardization, Vitalik suggested setting a maximum line count for consensus-critical code—code that directly affects agreement between nodes on the blockchain’s state. He compared this idea to practices in lightweight software projects like Tinygrad, which limit code complexity to keep the system auditable and easier to manage. Shorter, well-organized codebases are less prone to bugs and more transparent to outside developers reviewing or contributing to the protocol.
Finally, Vitalik proposed moving features not essential to Ethereum’s core consensus—such as legacy functions or experimental add-ons—outside the base protocol layer. Developers could still use these features, but they would not affect the core rules that secure and define the blockchain. This modular structure keeps Ethereum’s core simple while allowing controlled use of optional extensions.