Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently shared new insights in “The Possible Future of the Ethereum Protocol (Part 6: The Splurge),” outlining ambitious goals to advance the Ethereum ecosystem. In this phase, Buterin emphasized the importance of achieving a high-performance, stable “final state” for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which is central to the protocol’s functionality.
Possible futures of the Ethereum protocol, part 6: The Splurgehttps://t.co/OabLldVCqj
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) October 29, 2024
Vitalik Buterin defines account abstraction as one of the major objectives of this stage. Buterin aims to enhance user experience and security, making Ethereum accounts more convenient and safer for everyone. Another focus is improving the transaction fee system, which has been a longstanding pain point for users. Optimizing fees would not only make Ethereum more scalable but also reduce transaction-related risks.
Buterin is also keen on exploring advanced cryptography, which could significantly impact Ethereum’s long-term performance. However, implementing these improvements is challenging. In his latest article, Ethereum Co-founder, Buterin notes, “The EVM today is difficult to statically analyze, making it difficult to create highly efficient implementations, formally verify code, and make further extensions to over time.” The current EVM architecture, thus, limits its support for advanced cryptographic implementations. To address this, Buterin introduced the EVM Object Format (EOF), a core component of Ethereum’s upcoming hard fork.
EOF, a collection of Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), redefines EVM code with features like separation of code and data, restrictions on dynamic jumps, and new subroutine mechanisms. This restructured code format is expected to make the EVM more efficient, improving scalability and compatibility with complex cryptographic functions.
With “The Splurge,” Buterin continues to push Ethereum towards a more efficient, secure, and scalable future.
Buterin also pointed out that even though indistinguishability obfuscation is theoretically groundbreaking for security, it is currently impractical due to extreme runtimes, often exceeding realistic limits. Advances in quantum computing are also far from usable on a large scale, with even small functional quantum machines still in early stages.
Vitalik Buterin observes that indistinguishability obfuscation faces a trade-off: designs with more exotic, unproven security assumptions may be faster but risk vulnerabilities. More conservative designs based on standard assumptions are more secure but will take longer to optimize for practical use.
Vitalik concluded that integrating advanced cryptography like indistinguishability obfuscation with Ethereum could revolutionize its application layer. This could simplify complex protocols, secure proof-of-stake systems, and enhance privacy. However, core Ethereum (L1) would likely continue relying on established security assumptions for stability.
