Vitalik asks for Ethereum’s cleanup as protocol complexity spikes
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Hassan Shitu
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Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin is warning that Ethereum risks becoming a “useless mess” unless developers actively simplify the protocol instead of constantly adding new features.
In a post published on X on Sunday, Buterin said that Ethereum's biggest threat is not competition, but internal complexity.
If the protocol is too complex and only a small group of experts can understand or maintain it, they argue, decentralization, lack of trust, and autonomy lose their meaning.
His comments suggest that Ethereum is simultaneously posting record transaction activity and historically low fees.
Buterin calls it ‘Protocol Blot' in Ethereum's Codebase
Buterin says that even a network with hundreds of thousands of nodes and strong fault tolerance will fail its core mission if its codebase grows to so many advanced cryptographies that a few people can't audit.
At the center of his concern is what he described as a protocol bloat.
Ethereum's development process has historically chosen to add features while rarely removing old ones, mostly to maintain backward compatibility.
Over time, this leads to a protocol that grows heavier, more cumbersome, and more fragile.
Buterin warned that such complexity would compromise security, create barriers to new customer groups, and weaken Ethereum's ability to survive if current core developers leave.
To counter this trend, Buterin called for a clear “simplification” or “garbage collection” function in Ethereum's development process.
Simplification, he said, should focus on reducing total lines of code, reducing reliance on complex cryptographic dependencies, and introducing robust variables that can better predict customer behavior.
Buterin Outlines a plan to remove complexity from Ethereum.
He points to past changes, such as the removal of the SELFDESTRUCT opcode and transaction gas caps, and points to examples of how carefully chosen restrictions can make the protocol easier to implement and safer.
Buterin also outlined extensive cleanup options, including moving unused or complex features from the original protocol to modern contracts.
With this approach, legacy transaction types, pre-sets, and the Ethereum Virtual Machine itself can eventually be offloaded from mandatory protocol components, allowing new clients to focus on a simpler core.
The broader goal, he said, is to pass what Ethereum calls the “walk test.”
That means reaching a point where Ethereum's value proposition remains intact even if active protocol development slows down or stops.
Ethereum's road ahead draws a sharp divide with Solana
In a Jan. 12 post, Buterin said that if he chooses Ethereum, he should be able to check all the necessary features in advance.
These include quantum-resistant cryptography, a scalable architecture built around ZK-EVMs and PeerDAS, full tokenization, a secure gas program, and a proof-of-stake system that can remain decentralized for decades.
Buterin did nothing to ease the pressure. On January 18, Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko publicly rejected the idea of protocol volatility, arguing that blockchains “must not stop iterating” to remain relevant.
Yakovenko Solana's survival depends on continuous adaptation led by the developers who manage the network, and stagnation is more of a risk than complexity.
His comments come amid significant technical progress on the network.
Ethereum is currently processing around 2.5 million transactions per day, and average gas fees have fallen to $0.15.
Recent improvements, including Fusaka's hard fork and tweaks to Blob metrics, have expanded capabilities and reduced costs, mostly through the use of layer-2.
At the same time, the volatility of Ethereum has changed very positively.
Confirmation exit queues have dropped to zero, while entry queues have soared to multi-year highs as selling pressure eased and confidence in Ether as a productive asset increased.
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