Vitalik Buterin Advocates for Simplification in Ethereum Development

According to Foresight News, Vitalik Buterin has suggested that Ethereum's development process should incorporate clear mechanisms for 'simplification' and 'garbage collection' to ensure the protocol design is more efficient and comprehensible. He proposed three simplification criteria: reducing the number of lines of code to ideally fit on one or a few pages, avoiding over-reliance on complex technical components such as a single hash function for security, and adding more core attributes to reduce complexity. Buterin emphasized that an important and often underestimated aspect of 'trustlessness,' 'exit testing,' and 'autonomy' is the simplicity of the protocol. He noted that even if a protocol demonstrates high decentralization with hundreds of thousands of nodes and 49% Byzantine fault tolerance, it will ultimately fail in trust, exit, and autonomy if its code is complex and dependent on advanced cryptography. He warned that if the complexity of a protocol prevents technical personnel from inspecting and understanding its internal mechanisms, users will never fully control the protocol. Additionally, overly complex code structures reduce security, as intricate interactions between different parts increase the risk of failure. Buterin expressed concern that the pursuit of new features in Ethereum development could lead to protocol bloat, affecting long-term autonomy and stability. As Ethereum enters its next development phase, Buterin hopes for a slower update pace to allow for deeper examination and improvement. By reducing unnecessary complexity and redundant features, Ethereum can more effectively address future challenges and achieve lasting decentralization.