Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has called for the blockchain's protocol to be simplified to achieve a more genuine form of trustlessness. In a post on X, Buterin argued that while Ethereum is technically trustless—with transactions and smart contracts enforced by open-source code and a decentralized validator network—true trustlessness requires that a larger number of people can fully understand the entire protocol.
Buterin emphasized that if a protocol is so complex that only a small group of experts can comprehend it, users are effectively forced to trust that group, undermining the core principle of decentralization. He stated, "An important and underrated form of trustlessness is increasing the number of people who can actually understand the whole protocol from top to bottom. Ethereum needs to get better at this by making the protocol simpler." When questioned about the trade-off between advanced technological features and user comprehension, Buterin suggested a willingness to sacrifice some features, saying, "we should be willing to have fewer features sometimes."
The sentiment was echoed by INTMAX, a privacy-focused Layer 2 built on Ethereum, which agreed that the principle applies broadly to privacy infrastructure. "If only five people can understand how your privacy protocol works, you haven’t achieved trustlessness, you’ve just changed who you trust. Simple, auditable privacy architecture > complex black boxes," the project stated. Others noted that overly technical jargon can repel users from otherwise promising projects.
This push for simplicity aligns with Ethereum's broader roadmap, which acknowledges that the network can still be "too complex to use for most people." The roadmap outlines plans to "drastically lower its barriers to entry" and become as frictionless as using a traditional Web2 application. Key upgrades aimed at improving user experience include the development of smart contract wallets to streamline gas fees and key management, and efforts to make running a node accessible on devices like phones or browser apps. The Ethereum Foundation also funds a wide range of educational initiatives to foster broader understanding of blockchain technology.
