- Vitalik Buterin proposes a leaner Ethereum with 3-slot finality and fewer validators.
- Ethereum may drop the EVM for an RISC-V VM to boost speed, clarity, and tooling.
- Unified standards like SSZ and binary trees aim to simplify Ethereum’s full stack.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a radical simplification of the network’s base protocol, aiming to streamline its Layer 1 architecture and reduce technical debt. The proposal, unveiled on May 3, outlines how Ethereum could become “as simple as Bitcoin” over the next five years through structural changes across consensus, execution, and data layers.
According to a post by MrDegenWolf on Farcaster, “$ETH will skyrocket to $15K” as Ethereum’s core protocol becomes leaner and more maintainable, aligning with Buterin’s push for simplicity. The Fusaka hard fork, slated to increase Layer 2 data capacity by 10x, complements these efforts by enhancing scalability and lowering costs for rollup-centric applications.
At the same time, client diversity and progress in ZK-verifiability signal Ethereum’s push toward resilience and decentralization. This shift in direction has important implications for Ethereum’s broader market position. As the platform faces rising competition from alternative L1 chains, reducing protocol complexity may help attract developers, secure long-term utility, and retain institutional confidence.
Buterin Proposes 3-Slot Finality and RISC-V VM Transition
In a blog post titled “Simplifying the L1,” Buterin laid out a three-pronged vision to re-architect Ethereum’s protocol, starting with the consensus layer. A key feature, “3-slot finality,” merges slots and epochs, enabling simplified validator shuffling and fast finality with minimal code. Combined with STARK-based aggregation and fewer active validators, this reduces network complexity while preserving security guarantees.
The execution layer would undergo a more dramatic overhaul. Buterin advocates replacing the aging Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with a ZK-native VM like RISC-V or Cairo, citing 100x performance gains in proof generation and stronger auditability.
This change would eliminate precompiles, allow mainstream languages to target Ethereum, and modernize the entire smart contract stack. It is important to note a contrasting perspective from some developers who argue that such a transition could fragment tooling during the migration.
Another critical factor to consider is Ethereum’s strategy for backward compatibility. Buterin proposes a transitional phase where EVM contracts run on-chain via a RISC-V interpreter, ensuring legacy support while removing the EVM from consensus-critical code. This layered approach seeks to move complexity into non-consensus zones, minimizing systemic risk.
Standardization of Protocol Components to Streamline Infrastructure
To further reduce architectural bloat, Ethereum will consolidate protocol components under unified standards. Buterin suggests adopting a single erasure coding scheme, such as Reed-Solomon, for use in Data Availability Sampling, P2P broadcasting, and distributed blockchain history. Using one codec across use cases would reduce attack surfaces and shrink code size.
Another notable development worth mentioning is the proposed shift to SSZ (Simple Serialize) for all serialization needs, aligning consensus, execution, and smart contract layers under one encoding framework. SSZ is already used in the Beacon Chain and supports easier decoding in smart contracts. Efforts are also underway to migrate legacy tooling to SSZ for consistency.
When comparing recent developments, a clear difference emerges in Ethereum’s proposed tree structure upgrade. Transitioning from Merkle Patricia Trees to binary Merkle trees will optimize ZK proof generation and enable unified data access across the protocol. These changes, if implemented, could redefine how developers and users interact with the Ethereum base layer.
