I. Vitalik's Ethereum Simplification Plan: From "Functionalism" to "Minimalism"
Ethereum co-founderVitalik Buterin proposed a disruptive long-term plan in 2025 aimed at simplifying Ethereum's core protocol to near Bitcoin-like conciseness. The core idea of this plan is to enhance resilience and decentralization by reducing protocol complexity, with specific pathways including:
II. The Interplay of Conciseness and Functionality
III. Layer2 Battle: Why is Ethereum's "Clone" Caught in Internal Strife?
Despite Ethereum's scaling throughLayer2 (similar to "subnets"), the ecosystem is facing three major crises:
1. Power Game: What Happened to Decentralization?
TopLayer2 (such as Arbitrum) core controllers are still in the hands of development teams, with users worried about "centralization revival";
Token Economy Failure:ARB and other tokens plummeted upon listing, while Coinbase's Base chain reversed by "no token + social strategy";
2. External Enemies Besieging
Solana is grabbing users with "second-level transactions", TON is growing wildly with Telegram's 900 million users;
Ethereum'sLayer2s are trapped in homogeneous competition: issuing points, conducting airdrops, but with largely similar functions;
3. Developers Complaining
"Developing a DApp now is like opening a chain store - you have to renovate for each Layer2, and the cost is too high!"
IV. ETF Approval: Both Opportunity and Shackle
SEC Green Light: Ethereum spot ETF approved in May 2024, officially trading in July, attracting $9 billion in the first week;
Price Roller Coaster:ETH once rose to $3,700, but dropped back to the $3,000 range due to inability to stake (fearing being defined as a security);
Future Impact:
Institutional funds may flow toLayer2 tokens and AI projects (such as rendering network RNDR), intensifying market segmentation;
Regulatory Aftermath:ETF cannot be staked, equivalent to buying gold without bank interest, long-term attractiveness discounted;
V. The Biggest Challenge of the Five-Year Plan: Ideals are Plump, Reality is Bone-Thin
Switching toRISC-V architecture requires rewriting smart contracts, with veteran developers directly saying: "How is this different from learning a new language?"
Community Split Risk: Some believe existingZK-Rollup technology is sufficient, unnecessary to mess around;
User growth cannot keep up withgas fee reduction speed, DA layer (data storage) cannot sustain the ecosystem;
The envisioned"Modular Application Explosion" has yet to be seen. Do you believe in Vitalik's five-year bold bet?
