Vitalik Buterin Shares Vision for Ethereum’s Future Post-Merge

Jimmy Aki
Last Updated:

Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.

On October 14, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined his vision for the protocol’s future following the 2022 Merge, which saw Ethereum transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS).

Faster Transactions and Reducing Congestion

Buterin discussed the platform’s next steps in a blog post, particularly focusing on improvements to transaction speeds, security measures, and staking accessibility.

One of the major goals Buterin emphasized is reducing transaction times on Ethereum’s network, which can currently take around 15 minutes for full confirmation.

This delay, caused by congestion on the heavily used network, is a problem that Buterin wants to address through a solution known as single-slot finality.

Single-slot finality would allow transactions to be confirmed in one block, significantly speeding up transaction processing.

Buterin had already introduced this idea in a proposal from July 2023, and now he is pushing for it to be a priority for future upgrades.

Faster transactions would improve the overall user experience and make Ethereum more competitive compared to other blockchain networks. Recall that Ethereum scaling solution zkSync launched a technology capable of aiding fast transactions.

Buterin believes that speeding up transactions is a crucial step in attracting more users to the platform.

To become a validator and participate in staking, users need to lock up a minimum of 32 ETH, which is worth thousands of dollars. This requirement creates a barrier for many potential participants.

Buterin has proposed reducing the staking requirement to 1 ETH to lower this hurdle. “Lowering the minimum staking amount would enable more people to contribute to Ethereum’s security and governance,” Buterin said in his post.

Enhancing Ethereum’s Security

As Ethereum continues to evolve, Buterin stressed the importance of enhancing the network’s security. He proposed implementing a technique called single secret leader election. This cryptographic tool would help protect the network by making it harder for attackers to target block producers.

Buterin pointed out that the security of Ethereum is crucial, especially as the protocol becomes more decentralized with a broader base of stakers.

The network’s security will also be tested with the upcoming Prague-Electra (Pectra) upgrade, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025. This upgrade will further improve Ethereum, but Buterin acknowledges that challenges could arise.

One major concern is the risk of a 51% attack, where a single entity controls over half the network’s staking power. To prevent this, Buterin advocates increasing the quorum threshold required to validate transactions and enhancing recovery mechanisms in case of such an attack.

Buterin also took time to reflect on Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake, which he called a “hard-earned” and “long-awaited” achievement.

The Merge, completed in 2022, marked a significant milestone for Ethereum as it shifted from its previous energy-intensive PoW model to the more sustainable PoS.

However, Buterin acknowledged that while the Merge was a major success, there are still areas in which PoS could be improved.

About Jimmy Aki PRO INVESTOR

Based in the UK, Jimmy is an economic researcher with outstanding hands-on and heads-on experience in Macroeconomic finance analysis, forecasting and planning. He has honed his skills having worked cross-continental as a finance analyst, which gives him inter-cultural experience. He currently has a strong passion for regulation and macroeconomic trends as it allows him peek under the global bonnet to see how the world works.