2025-12-18 00:20:31

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik recently made a sharp statement: true "trustlessness" relies not on faith, but on understanding. He believes that the biggest threat currently facing Ethereum comes from within—the increasing complexity of the protocol.

His stance is straightforward: how much should the protocol be simplified? Simplified to the point where a clever middle school student can understand its core logic. This is not about showing off, but about practical considerations— the more complex the code, the more hidden vulnerabilities it contains, and the more fragile the system becomes.

To implement this idea, Ethereum is undergoing a fairly thorough transformation. On the technical level, the team is exploring consensus mechanisms that can be defined with only about 200 lines of code (such as the "Three Slots Finality" mechanism), and may also replace the current architecture with a new high-performance virtual machine. This is not a minor patch but a major operation.

Even more interestingly, a parallel privacy initiative is also underway. The Ethereum Foundation has assembled a team of 47 experts to study how to embed privacy features directly into the network layer. Their recent demonstration of the Kohaku wallet exemplifies this direction—allowing users to conduct anonymous transactions while remaining fully compliant.

So the current situation is somewhat delicate: on one side is the pursuit of "ultimate transparency and understandability," and on the other side is the pursuit of "ultimate security and privacy." How much energy could be unleashed if these two seemingly opposing goals are achieved on the same chain?

From the market perspective, some analysis institutions have already made aggressive predictions—if BTC surges to $250,000, ETH could reach $62,000 in 2026. On-chain data also hints that Ethereum may still be undervalued at present.

But there is a question worth pondering: what will drive Ethereum's next wave of growth—the fundamental simplification of its underlying architecture, or the real implementation of killer applications like privacy? Feel free to share your views in the comments.

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HashRateHermit

· 2025-12-20 23:55

200 lines of code define consensus? Vitalik is serious about this It sounds a bit outrageous, but the logic does hit the mark Privacy + transparency at the same time, can it work? Is Kohaku wallet really compliant? I'm a bit skeptical Simplification = security, I believe that, but how to achieve it? 62,000 ETH, I find it a bit... over-optimistic? The core issue is really one: can the technical implementation keep up? Can middle school students understand? Right now, many people don't even understand gas The three-slot termination mechanism sounds good, but I'm worried about more bureaucratic processes Good privacy measures are indeed a killer feature, but what does regulation say? I'm actually more concerned about whether important features will be lost after simplification

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ETHReserveBank

· 2025-12-19 13:17

A protocol that middle school students can understand? Vitalik's idea is correct, but in reality, how many middle school students actually read the code haha 200 lines of code defining the consensus mechanism sounds wild, but simplification can indeed reduce risks, which is undeniable Can privacy and transparency be compatible? It feels a bit mystical $62,000 ETH... Why is this prediction so bold? It depends on how the market actually performs in 2026 What is the real growth point? Is it technical simplification or privacy applications? I bet privacy will be implemented first Vitalik always comes up with new tricks, let's keep watching

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fren.eth

· 2025-12-18 00:45

Simplify it so that middle school students can understand? Old V really isn't joking this time. 200 lines of code to define consensus... if that's really achievable, the game rules will change. Wait, can transparency and privacy both be maximized at the same time? That sounds a bit like fantasy. Saying the number 62,000 is easy, but actually being able to use it is the real issue. Privacy implementation is the real killer move; otherwise, these optimizations won't feel meaningful to ordinary people. I support protocol simplification, but it shouldn't also simplify away the functions.

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DeepRabbitHole

· 2025-12-18 00:44

Can middle school students understand? The logic is real, but the difficulty of implementation might be underestimated. Can simplification and privacy truly coexist, or is it just another compromise in the end... V God is starting to be idealistic again. This time, it won't be another unfinished project, right? Defining consensus mechanisms with 200 lines of code? Sounds impressive, but how many can actually be implemented successfully? $62,000, is this prediction a bit too optimistic... Privacy and transparency are inherently contradictory. How can they be fully compatible? The key is whether it can truly attract developers and users, not just the technology itself.

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WhaleWatcher

· 2025-12-18 00:26

Simplify it so that middle school students can understand? Haha, that's a pretty high standard. 200 lines of code to define consensus? That doesn't seem very realistic, the devil is in the details. Privacy + transparency on the same chain? How do you balance that? I find it a bit hard to understand. ETH rising to 62k? Then I gotta hold on to my little amount of coins, haha. But honestly, Vitalik's direction is still somewhat interesting. The key is really how much it can be simplified. Compared to price predictions, I'm more concerned whether this major overhaul can truly reduce system risks. That's the core, right? How's the Kohaku wallet doing? Has anyone used it? I feel like privacy is the real breakthrough here. The simpler the protocol, the fewer vulnerabilities? I need to think about this logic, but it sounds pretty reasonable. Let's see next year. If the architecture really gets simplified, the ETH story might need to be retold.

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TokenStorm

· 2025-12-18 00:25

200 lines of code define consensus? Is Vitalik really planning to cut half of the ETH ecosystem this time, simplifying it to a level that middle school students can understand? Now most developers will have to be laid off. On-chain data does tell a story, but the number 62,000 sounds like survivor bias from backtesting. I bet that real-world privacy implementation is the key to success. Honestly, do we need both transparency and privacy? Isn't that like wanting to be both a police officer and a thief? I want to see how they finally balance this. A team of 47 experts researching privacy, with such high costs—can they really develop a killer app, or is this just another unfinished research project?

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