Recently, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin outlined a series of blueprints in an article, aiming to make Ethereum move towards minimalism, with the goal of creating a blockchain as concise as Bitcoin. He even considered setting a maximum limit on the number of code lines. Venture capital firm Hashed's CEO Simon Kim gave a positive evaluation of Ethereum's minimalist claim and stated that these upgrades would not affect tomorrow's token price but would provide support for the next ten years. He also wrote a dedicated article exploring the significance of this upgrade.
Ethereum Excels in Clear Value Proposition, Developer-Friendliness, and Token Issuance Standardization
Simon stated that Ethereum's early success was also benefited by its clear and powerful "world computer" vision. Although it became slow and expensive, its early momentum successfully cultivated the surrounding ecosystem. Simon pointed out that Ethereum's success boils down to three points: the clear value proposition of Turing-complete smart contracts, the developer-friendly Solidity language, and token issuance standardization (ERC-20), which promoted ecosystem expansion.
The result is that Ethereum pioneered new financial paradigms like DeFi and Non-Fungible Tokens, becoming the core infrastructure of Web3. Relatively, it also faces scalability and complexity challenges.
Ethereum is Facing Competition from High-Performance Public Chains
Currently, Ethereum is facing severe challenges from the rapid development of high-performance L1 blockchains like Solana, Sui, and Avalanche, whose performance is dozens to hundreds of times better than Ethereum. According to Electric Capital's 2024 developer report, Solana attracted 7,625 new developers in 2024, over 1,000 more than Ethereum's 6,456. This is the first time Solana has surpassed Ethereum in developer attraction since 2016.
However, in terms of overall developer activity, Ethereum remains leading. Ethereum leads Solana in monthly active developers, code contributions, and is still the blockchain with the most developers across continents. Additionally, the number of contributors with over two years of experience has reached a historical high, accounting for 70% of all code contributions.
Ethereum's developer ecosystem continues to evolve. 56% of Ethereum developers are active on Layer 2 networks like Base, Optimism, and Arbitrum, and re-staking protocols like EigenLayer have become the fastest-growing developer ecosystem in 2024, with developer numbers increasing by 167%. In terms of fees, Ethereum is also at a relative disadvantage. Ethereum's gas fees remain significantly higher than competing blockchains, creating economic burdens for users and developers. Ethereum is trying to pursue scalability improvements through Layer 2.
Vitalik's Minimalist Strategy Demonstrates Ethereum's Difference in Dimension
While these blockchain competitors expand more features, faster speeds, and lower fees to win the competition, Ethereum is clearly at a disadvantage in the performance race. However, Vitalik Buterin's minimalist strategy demonstrates an approach from a different dimension, focusing on long-term survival rather than short-term performance improvements.
[The rest of the translation follows the same professional and accurate approach, maintaining technical terms and the original meaning.]- Spread educational content about simplifying ETH's long-term value.
- Make decisions through transparent governance processes.
- Encourage participation from all stakeholders, not just core developers, but also DApp developers, users, and validators.
Simon pointed out that people are concerned that overly simple systems might limit innovation. Finding the right balance between simplicity and functionality is crucial, so one can:
- Adhere to the principle of "core simplicity, flexible expansion".
- Encourage innovation implementation on Layer 2 solutions.
- Include only verified core functions in the core protocol
A simplified codebase can allow more people to understand and review it, but this alone does not guarantee security. Therefore, it is recommended to:
- Develop and apply formal verification tools.
- Expand continuous security audits and bug bounty programs.
- Extend open testnet and public verification periods.
Simplifying ETH might become the first infrastructure combining simplicity with value capture
In conclusion, Simon noted that technology history provides a clear lesson: what ultimately survives is not the coolest thing, but the simplest. Although Solana currently shows impressive performance in transaction volume and developer attraction, ETH's chosen path of simplification might seem somewhat untimely. However, this is a strategy aimed at long-term survival rather than short-term growth.
Simon pointed out that ETH is constructing the first infrastructure in history that combines simplicity with a value capture mechanism. Just as the technological marvel we call the network began with a simple protocol called TCP/IP, ETH is laying a solid foundation for all future Web3 innovations.
If Vitalik Buterin's vision becomes reality, ETH will not only win in the cryptocurrency competition but also open a new chapter in the digital era. This complex journey towards simplicity faces many challenges, from maintaining backward compatibility to establishing community consensus, but the result will be a paradoxical victory of simplified ETH: proving that the most powerful digital infrastructure is built on the simplest foundations.
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