Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared his vision for the future of the protocol, emphasizing improvements to proof-of-stake, security, and more in a merged world, Cointelegraph reported.
Buterin posted reflections on social media about the status of the agreement and its potential evolution after the merger. In a detailed blog post on October 14, Buterin highlighted several key areas where Ethereum could achieve significant improvements, including faster transaction speeds, enhanced security, and greater support for individual stakers. Accessibility.
Post-merger thoughts
The 2022 Ethereum merger marks the protocol’s move from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake (PoS). Buterin called the event “hard-earned” and “long-awaited,” but noted that there are still important areas for improvement on the PoS side.
Buterin believes that one of the main goals for Ethereum in the future is to reduce the time it takes for transactions to be completed. Currently, it takes about 15 minutes to complete a transaction, which can be frustrating given that Ethereum is the busiest blockchain network. Such delays can lead to network congestion.
Buterin suggested exploring solutions such as single-slot finality, which could significantly reduce transaction times. This would make Ethereum more competitive and improve the overall user experience. He proposed single-slot finality in July.
Buterin also discussed how to make Ethereum more accessible to a wider user base. The current staking requirement is 32 ETH, which can be a barrier for many people who want to participate in the network. Buterin proposed lowering the minimum staking amount to 1 ETH, enabling more people to contribute to Ethereum's security and governance.
Securing the network
Buterin stressed the importance of protecting Ethereum from attacks by implementing a cryptographic technique called single secret leader election, which will make it more difficult for attackers to interfere with the network.
Additionally, Buterin suggested exploring ways to improve the protocol’s resistance to the threat of quantum computing, which could pose a significant challenge in the future, and increase the legal threshold and resilience to 51% attacks.
Buterin’s post comes as Ethereum looks ahead to the next milestone on its development roadmap — the Prague-Electra (Pectra) upgrade scheduled to go live in the first quarter of 2025.
