Future Of Ethereum Outlined By Vitalik Buterin

Vitalik Buterin, one of the Co-Founders of Ethereum (ETH), recently proposed potential alterations to the Ethereum protocol aimed at diminishing centralization. The post comes shortly after Vitalik saw his X (formerly Twitter) account be hacked by an unknown source, a move which resulted in many unsuspecting followers being scammed.

Looking Toward The Future

In his post, Buterin deliberates upon the possible repercussions of integrating additional functionalities into the ETH network. He explores the intricate trade-offs involved in incorporating specific features directly into the protocol as opposed to relegating them to other layers within the ecosystem. Among the protocols under scrutiny are the account abstraction protocol ERC-4337, ZK-EVMs, code precompiles, private mempools, and liquid staking.

Notably, Buterin exhibits a strong inclination towards integrating certain protocols, such as ERC-4337, directly into the code of Ethereum rather than relegating them to private mempools. Nevertheless, he acknowledges the intricate balance of advantages and drawbacks associated with each feature, which will certainly continue to evolve over time.

The Future Of Staking On Ethereum

The blog post also focused largely on the concept of liquid staking, a significant aspect of Ethereum. Presently, Lido, a liquid staking pool, exerts control over more than 32% of the total staked ETH. Despite the distribution of this stake across various validators, Buterin raises concerns regarding the concentration of liquid staking providers within the Ethereum network.

Rather than relying solely on ethical persuasion to encourage a more diverse group of staking providers, Buterin suggests that the Ethereum protocol could undergo various modifications to enhance the overall decentralization of liquid staking operations.

Buterin proposes potential measures, including altering the procedures employed by the liquid staking provider RocketPool or endowing additional governance powers to a randomly selected panel of smaller-scale stakers. He concluded the post by emphasizing the complexity of these issues, which are bound to change going forward.

Nevertheless, with competitors like Cardano (ADA) hot on its trail, Ethereum will need to make the aforementioned changes as soon as possible to maintain its position as the second biggest crypto in terms of market capitalization.