Originally published on: October 14, 2024
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently shared his vision for the future of the Ethereum protocol following the Merge, highlighting key areas for improvement and advancement.
The Ethereum Merge in 2022 marked a significant transition for the protocol from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake (PoS). Buterin described the event as “hard-earned” and “long-awaited,” emphasizing the need for ongoing enhancements to the PoS mechanism.
One of Buterin’s primary goals for Ethereum’s future is to reduce transaction times, which currently take about 15 minutes. This delay can lead to network congestion, impacting the user experience. To address this issue, Buterin proposed implementing solutions like single-slot finality to significantly speed up transactions and enhance competitiveness.
In addition to transaction speed, Buterin also discussed the importance of making Ethereum more accessible to a wider range of users by lowering the minimum staking requirement from 32 ETH to 1 ETH. This change would enable more individuals to participate in Ethereum’s security and governance, further decentralizing the network and reducing the risk of centralization.
Buterin emphasized the need to protect Ethereum from potential attacks by implementing cryptographic techniques such as single secret leader election. He also highlighted the importance of enhancing the protocol’s resistance to quantum computing threats and increasing safeguards against 51% attacks.
As Ethereum prepares for its next milestone, the Prague-Electra (Pectra) upgrade set to launch in the first quarter of 2025, Buterin’s insights set the stage for continued innovation and evolution within the ecosystem.
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