Ethereum’s Decade of Evolution: Co-Founders Reflect at EthCC
Ethereum’s Decade of Evolution: Since its inception in 2014, Ethereum has evolved extensively, though usability and technical improvements remain hurdles as the protocol enters its second decade. Ethereum co-founders Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Lubin highlighted these focal points during the EthCC event in Brussels.
In recent years, Ethereum has successfully shifted to a proof-of-stake consensus and adopted a layer-2 centric approach to scaling the network’s base layer. This journey has been marked by both successes and challenges as the ecosystem aims for mainstream acceptance and adoption.
Ethereum Achieves Scalability and Affordability
Cointelegraph spoke exclusively to Lubin during a side event hosted by Consensys’ Ethereum zkEVM Linea. Buterin and Lubin have praised the advent of zero-knowledge proof (ZK-proof) powered layer 2s as the future of Ethereum’s development. These platforms can batch transactions off-chain and submit cryptographic proofs to Ethereum’s base layer, resulting in significant performance and cost reductions for end users.
Reflecting on the ecosystem’s current state, Consensys CEO Lubin said major strides have been made in terms of performance: We have achieved scalability, we’ve achieved affordability, and we’re really close to achieving usability.
Lubin also added that zkEVMs have proven to be the key technological approach best suited to bringing high-speed, low-cost functionality to the ecosystem.
ZK-Rollups Over Optimistic Rollups
Optimistic rollups were initially a stopgap for scaling challenges. As Lubin explained, optimistic approaches had “edge use cases,” and fraud proofs requiring up to two weeks for final settlement were “just not going to be the real direction of travel.”
With ZK tech, we believe we developed the right course. I don’t imagine that these network states will be heavily built on optimistic technology,
Lubin
While he admitted that optimistic technology will remain useful for certain things, he said it would be “foolish” to use technology that is “less efficient and less effective” when validity proofs are available.
User experience remains a crucial hurdle to overcome as the wider Ethereum ecosystem looks to abstract some complexity away from end users.
Vitalik’s Vision for Ethereum as a Base Layer
Buterin drew a full house for his keynote address at EthCC, focusing on the challenges remaining for Ethereum as a base layer in its L2-centric approach. Key concerns highlighted by the Ethereum co-founder included the barriers stopping ETH holders from solo staking and pooled staking.
Buterin also identified censorship as one of the biggest risks facing the ecosystem, including the censorship of transactions by nodes and other technical concerns related to malicious parties influencing transaction processing.
A proposed approach to combating network attacks or censorship is to increase the quorum threshold to 75% or more. Buterin explained that this could prevent a potentially censored chain from reaching finality. He also envisioned a future where the majority of Ethereum users could run light clients to verify the base layer and L2s on mobile devices.
Protocol simplification was a key point as Buterin wrapped up his address, highlighting how the L1 can be improved while leveraging the benefits of L2 networks.
Ethereum has unique strengths as a robust base layer, including some that are not even held by Bitcoin,
Buterin
FAQs
What recent developments have been made in Ethereum’s technology?
Ethereum has successfully shifted to a proof-of-stake consensus and adopted a layer-2 centric approach for scaling its base layer.
What are ZK-rollups, and why are they important for Ethereum?
ZK-rollups use zero-knowledge proofs to batch transactions off-chain and submit cryptographic proofs to Ethereum’s base layer, bringing significant performance and cost reductions.
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