Vitalik Buterin calls for a simpler Ethereum to drive mass adoption
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin says the growing complexity of the network is becoming a major barrier to wider adoption, despite Ethereum’s position as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market value.
In a recent post on X, Buterin argued that true decentralization depends not only on open code and distributed validators, but also on how many people can actually understand how the system works from end to end.
“One important and often overlooked form of trustlessness is increasing the number of people who can fully understand the protocol,” Buterin wrote. “Ethereum needs to do better here by simplifying the protocol.”
In blockchain terms, trustlessness means a system can operate on its own based on set rules, without needing middlemen. While Ethereum is technically decentralized, Buterin noted that its internal mechanics have become so complex that only a small group of experts truly grasp them. This creates an unintended reliance on developers, undermining the ideal of decentralization.
Fewer features, more clarity
Buterin suggested that the solution may require difficult trade-offs. Instead of continuously adding new capabilities, the network may need to intentionally scale back.
“Sometimes we should consciously give up certain features,” he said, emphasizing that simplicity can be more valuable than technical sophistication.
Members of the Ethereum community echoed his sentiment. Developers from layer-2 network INTMAX pointed out that the same logic applies to privacy tools: if only a handful of people understand how a system works, decentralization hasn’t been achieved — trust has simply shifted to a smaller group.
Improving the user experience
Ethereum’s long-term roadmap already acknowledges that the network remains too complicated for everyday users. One of its core goals is to make interacting with Ethereum feel as easy and intuitive as using a traditional web app.
To get there, developers are working on multiple improvements at once. Planned upgrades include smart contract wallets designed to hide technical details such as gas fees and private key management from users.
Simplifying how nodes are run is another key focus. In the future, Ethereum nodes could potentially operate on smartphones or through browser extensions, dramatically lowering the barrier to participation. This would allow more people to help secure the network directly, strengthening decentralization.
The Ethereum Foundation first outlined a dedicated user-experience improvement plan in August. The research showed that usability problems are the biggest concern for both individual users and institutions, suggesting that making things simpler could be Ethereum’s next big improvement.
