Vitalik Buterin Calls to Simplify Ethereum Protocol with New Design

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a major overhaul of the Ethereum base layer, aiming to simplify the protocol’s architecture for improved security, scalability, and long-term sustainability.

Drawing on Bitcoin’s minimalist design principles, Buterin published a blog post titled “Simplifying the L1” on May 3, outlining a path to reduce the network’s technical complexity.

Buterin’s vision targets Ethereum’s core layers—consensus, execution, and shared components—with a strategy to streamline processes that have grown increasingly convoluted since the network’s inception.

Buterin argued that unnecessary complexity has led to bloated development timelines, higher maintenance costs, and increased risks of bugs.

A central element of Buterin’s proposal is a reimagining of the consensus layer through a model called “3-slot finality.”

This approach would eliminate intricate mechanisms such as epochs, sync committees, and validator shuffling.

By reducing the number of active validators at any given time, the protocol could adopt a simpler and safer fork choice rule, easing the development of light clients and reducing attack surfaces.

The effort to revamp Ethereum's consensus, historically called the beam chain, includes many opportunities to simplify consensus, while also increasing efficiency and security. pic.twitter.com/MIRpsbe48h

On the execution side, Buterin proposed transitioning from the current Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to a new, zero-knowledge (ZK)-friendly virtual machine based on the RISC-V architecture.

RISC-V is a lightweight, open-source instruction set architecture known for its efficiency and simplicity.

The move could accelerate ZK proof generation by up to 100x and make the protocol more auditable and developer-friendly.

Buterin suggested maintaining backward compatibility during the transition by running legacy EVM contracts through a RISC-V interpreter.

Buterin also called for protocol-wide standardization to minimize fragmentation.

He recommended consolidating tools and formats—such as adopting a single erasure coding method, serialization format (SSZ), and tree structure—to reduce redundant systems and enhance developer tooling.

“Simplicity is in many ways similar to decentralization,” Buterin noted, proposing that Ethereum adopt a “max line-of-code” principle for consensus-critical logic, much like the lightweight machine learning project Tinygrad.

Under this approach, non-critical or legacy features would still be supported but moved outside the core specification.

Ethereum could play a key role in solving some of the most pressing problems facing artificial intelligence, according to Eric Connor, a former core developer of the blockchain.

Earlier this month, Connor said Ethereum’s “biggest mainstream moment” could come through its integration with AI, as the sector struggles with centralization, opaque algorithms, and growing privacy concerns.

“AI is plagued by black-box models, centralized data silos, and privacy pitfalls,” Connor noted, adding that Ethereum is uniquely positioned to address these issues.

Last month, crypto venture capitalist Nic Carter of Castle Island Ventures pointed to two key issues undermining Ether’s value: the rise of layer-2 (L2) scaling networks and unchecked token issuance.

He argued that “greedy Eth L2s” are siphoning off value from Ethereum’s base layer while giving little back.

He also criticized the Ethereum community’s acceptance of excessive token creation, claiming that “ETH was buried in an avalanche of its own tokens. Died by its own hand.”

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