Vitalik Buterin Drops the Bitcoin Bomb: Why Ethereum Needs a 101-Course Makeover 😼

Vitalik Buterin, the enigmatic engineer behind Ethereum’s labyrinthine corridors, leans over the parchment that is his blog and gently scrawls: “We must learn to love simplicity, like those stoics over in Bitcoin-land.” The world, blurry and rain-soaked outside the window (as ever), awaits a revelation. He does not disappoint.

A subtle jab, almost poetic, slips in: what makes Bitcoin lovely is not how it defies explanation, but rather how even your cousin’s bright teenager could, with enough snacks and a weekend, untangle its cunning knots. Blocks, hash, proof of work—like metro tickets on a rainy Moscow night; each with a destination and all traceable, provided you don’t lose your scarf.

“One of the best things about Bitcoin”: Vitalik Buterin suggests simplifying Ethereum

“Even a smart high school student,” Vitalik muses, “can wrap their wild minds around Bitcoin.” (And who are we to doubt him? Except maybe that teen who still can’t find his AirPods
)

One of the best things about Bitcoin is how simple it is. This simplicity has lots of benefits. Let’s bring those benefits to Ethereum.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) May 3, 2025

The man, undeterred by Ethereum’s winding gears, admits: Perhaps we are all overcooked codfish beside the plain potato that is Bitcoin—delicately unadorned, and oddly satisfying. Bring those calm, potato-like benefits to Ethereum? Why not.

At the root of his proposal is a yearning: To drag Ethereum’s layer-1 out of the technomancer’s closet, dust off its capes, and let it walk the streets in broad daylight, charming the masses and convincing the developers it’s all very maintainable, truly. Ethereum, riddled with EVM’s clunky 256-bit parts and ancient gears, apparently needs a spa day. Or a time machine, preferably one without a complex setup script.

It will be worth it in the long term, Buterin insists

He points to a future, shrouded in mist, titled Ethereum 2025 and that ever-elusive Pectra upgrade. There, soothsayers promise 10x more layer-2 data and increased scalability, security, and decentralization—if anyone survives the roadmap. (No mention of snacks at the meetings, though. Disappointing.)

Caring about simplicity is, like decentralization, a short-term cost for the sake of benefits that do not appear immediately. But in the long term, it will be worth it. Let’s make each part of the ethereum spec a place where things like this can happen:

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) May 3, 2025

Vitalik, waving his blog as though it were a flag on the cold steppe, warns: “Immediate rewards? Don’t get greedy now. Wait five years, and then—oh, then!—we shall marvel at how much easier everything could have been if only we’d listened sooner.”
Until then, keep your protocols simple, your coders caffeinated, and your metaphors mixed. đŸ„”đŸ˜…

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2025-05-03 12:35