Key Highlights
- •Vitalik Buterin advocates for a stable, predictable Ethereum Layer 1 (L1), suggesting a reduction in major upgrades to mitigate risks for the network securing hundreds of billions of dollars.
- •Innovation is expected to shift towards layer-2 rollups, wallets, and applications, enabling improvements without altering the core protocol.
- •Quantum computing is identified as a future threat, necessitating Ethereum's preparation with quantum-resistant cryptography, ideally managed outside the core layer under an ossified model.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has stated that the world’s second-largest blockchain should gradually cease major changes—a significant departure from the network’s historical culture of rapid experimentation.
Speaking at the Devconnect conference in Buenos Aires, Buterin told an audience of over 500 people that Ethereum’s base layer, also known as layer 1 (L1), should ossify. This term is used in blockchain communities to describe the intentional limitation of further core upgrades.
“More and more ossification over time is good for Ethereum,” he said. “We have a much lower rate of surprises now.”
The concept prompted murmurs from the attendees, who are accustomed to Ethereum's reputation as a flexible and continuously evolving protocol.
Why Buterin Advocates for Ethereum's Ossification
For many years, Ethereum's capacity for rapid adaptation was considered one of its most significant strengths. Developers could innovate freely, anticipating that the protocol would adapt and improve over time.
However, Buterin explained that Ethereum's current scale and importance have fundamentally altered this dynamic. With hundreds of billions of dollars now secured on the network, stability may take precedence over continuous upgrades.
He argued that a more rigid—and consequently, more predictable—base layer reduces the risk of introducing bugs or vulnerabilities.
In this context, a less volatile blockchain could ultimately prove to be a safer one.
Ossification Does Not Mean Halting All Innovation
Buterin clarified that Ethereum does not need to reach a complete standstill. Instead, different components of the network can achieve "ossification" at varying paces.
He elaborated that Ethereum's consensus layer—the system responsible for ensuring all nodes agree on the same version of the blockchain—could become stable and unchanging, while the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the software environment that executes smart contracts, remains open to improvements.
“It’s good to maintain some flexibility,” he remarked.
His vision involves redirecting innovation away from layer 1 and towards the surrounding ecosystem:
Layer 2 (L2) Rollups
These are networks built upon Ethereum that manage the majority of transactions before finalizing the results on the main chain. They are already responsible for processing a significant portion of Ethereum's activity.
Wallets and User Tools
Enhancements in usability, security, and privacy can be implemented independently of the core protocol.
Applications
Developers can create new functionalities on top of Ethereum without necessitating alterations to Ethereum itself.
“It’s healthy to move attention out of L1 and into the surrounding ecosystem,” Buterin stated.
In essence, innovation should persist, but not at the foundational protocol level where the associated risks are most significant.
The Cost of Growth: A Maturing and Imitative Ecosystem
Buterin also reflected on the evolution of Ethereum's prevailing culture.
In its nascent stages, the cryptocurrency space was characterized by experimentation and ambitious concepts. Over time, however, a proliferation of memecoins, speculative trading, and derivative projects has diminished some of that original creativity.
“There is too much of the space that has gone in the direction of ‘if you want to succeed, be a fast follower and copy what’s already working,’” he commented.
“It harms the imagination of the space.”
Concurrently, the increasing involvement of institutional players has steered the ecosystem towards greater discipline and predictability—a natural consequence of expansion, albeit one that involves certain compromises.
A Looming Threat: Quantum Computing
Buterin concluded with a significant warning regarding the long-term security of Ethereum and other blockchains.
Ethereum currently relies on elliptic curve cryptography, a mathematical framework used to secure wallets and validate transactions. However, future quantum computers possess the potential to break this cryptography much more rapidly than conventional machines.
“Elliptic curves are going to die,” Buterin declared, referencing projections that quantum computers capable of threatening Ethereum might become available before the next U.S. presidential election in 2028.
If this timeline proves accurate, the ecosystem will have approximately four years to transition to quantum-resistant cryptographic systems.
Crucially, Buterin emphasized that under an ossified model, such substantial modifications would be managed at the periphery of the network—for instance, through wallets and user tools—rather than by altering Ethereum’s core protocol.
A New Phase for Ethereum
Buterin's remarks signal a pivotal shift in Ethereum's underlying philosophy. After nearly a decade of rapid upgrades, from the Merge to the ongoing Surge roadmap, he is now advocating for the base layer to achieve stability, predictability, and near-unchangeability.
For a network tasked with securing immense value, he contends that this level of maturity is not only inevitable but also critical.
The future trajectory of Ethereum, in his perspective, will be shaped by the layers built upon it, as the foundation finally solidifies.