Ethereum, 100 times faster "as simple as Bitcoin" proposal by Buterin

Table of Contents* 1. New Concept of Ethereum | Aiming for Simplification on Par with BTC

• 2. Mr. Buterin's proposal "L1 Simplification" aims for a 100x speedup.

• 2.1. Migrate the virtual machine to a 'RISC-V' base
• 2.2. Maintain compatibility with existing assets in "Legacy Mode"
• 2.3. Simplification through standardization and unification of protocol specifications

• 3. Current Status and Future Roadmap of Ethereum L2

• 3.1. Dencun Upgrade and Rapid Increase in L2 Usage
• 3.2. Roadmap After 'Fusaka' | Further Strengthening of L1 and L2

• 4. Reactions from the community and future challenges

New Concept of Ethereum | Aiming for Simplification on Par with BTC

Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin published "The Simple L1 Sharding Proposal" on his blog on May 3, 2025.

The proposal aims to reshape the complex Ethereum into a simple structure similar to that of Bitcoin (BTC) and increase processing speeds by up to 100 times.

Mr. Buterin stated on X (Twitter), "One of Bitcoin's greatest strengths is the simplicity of its protocol," emphasizing the plan to transform Ethereum into a foundation as simple as Bitcoin over the next five years.

One of the best things about Bitcoin is how simple it is. This simplicity has lots of benefits. Let's bring those benefits to Ethereum. pic.twitter.com/YwmVaOCPlP

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) May 3, 2025

One of the great attractions of Bitcoin is its simplicity. This simplicity brings various advantages.

We will incorporate these advantages into Ethereum.

Proposal by Buterin to Achieve 100x Speedup through "L1 Simplification"

Migrate the virtual machine to a "RISC-V" base

Ethereum has faced issues for many years with high transaction fees (gas fees) and slow processing speeds. To address these challenges, Mr. Buterin has proposed "L1 Simplification," which greatly simplifies the protocol and enhances efficiency from the ground up.

As a specific measure, we have indicated a policy to transition from the currently used virtual machine (EVM) for executing smart contracts to a new open-source RISC-V based virtual machine (VM).

The virtual machine based on RISC-V can execute code directly without conversion, significantly increasing the processing speed of zero-knowledge proofs, with performance improvements expected to exceed 100 times under certain conditions.

This is expected to lead to a significant reduction in gas fees and improvement in transaction processing speed, potentially strengthening competitiveness against high-speed chains such as Solana (SOL).

Additionally, it is important that the specifications of the new virtual machine become simpler. This will make it easier for many engineers to understand the protocol and participate in development, and it is expected to reduce bugs during implementation.

Maintain compatibility with existing assets in "Legacy Mode"

While significantly improving performance, it is also an important challenge to maintain compatibility with the vast number of smart contract assets currently running on EVM.

In response to this issue, Mr. Buterin has proposed a two-step approach that keeps the functions of the old EVM within the protocol as a "legacy mode" while making a simplified execution environment with the new virtual machine the mainstream.

This allows for the continued use of old smart contracts while focusing on the new system, significantly reducing long-term maintenance costs and complexity.

Simplification through standardization and unification of protocol specifications

Mr. Buterin also proposes to standardize and unify the protocol specifications of the entire Ethereum system to fundamentally address the complexity of the system.

For example, by incorporating technologies that can be commonly used in multiple scenarios such as block data and transaction processing, we simplify the entire system. Additionally, we aim to unify the handling of data into a simpler and faster method, thereby streamlining transaction confirmations and making lightweight clients easier to use.

Currently, there is a separate data format (serialization format) for the execution layer and the consensus layer, but in the future, there are plans to unify them into "SSZ," including the input and output of smart contracts and block data formats.

Additionally, it is proposed to change the Hexary Patricia Trie currently used in Ethereum to a simpler and more efficient binary tree structure, and to standardize it between the consensus layer and the execution layer.

These changes are expected to speed up the creation (verification) of state data proofs and reduce the cost of data referencing for lightweight clients.

Mr. Buterin stated, "Simplicity is a source of resilience just like decentralization," highlighting his focus on long-term stability over immediate feature additions.

Current Status and Future Roadmap of Ethereum L2

Ethereum is currently advancing scaling through both the simplification of L1 and the expansion of Layer 2 (L2).

Dencun upgrade and the surge in L2 utilization

In the large-scale update "Dencun" implemented in March 2024, the data processing capacity for L2 was increased due to EIP-4844 (proto-danksharding), and L2 transaction fees decreased by up to 1/100.

As a result, the use of major L2s such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base has surged, with the number of transactions per day reaching approximately 12.42 million, setting a new record.

On the other hand, the daily transaction volume of L1 fluctuates around approximately 1 million transactions, indicating that L2 plays an important role in the current actual usage of Ethereum.

Roadmap after "Fusaka" | Further strengthening of L1 and L2

The upcoming roadmap indicates a plan to further increase the L2 data capacity by approximately 10 times with the scheduled "Fusaka" upgrade in the second half of 2025.

Mr. Buterin also suggested in his blog a plan to expand the data processing capacity of L1 itself to a similar level by around 2026, envisioning a future where the overall processing capacity is increased 100 times by strengthening both L2 and L1.

Community Feedback and Future Challenges

There are various reactions within the community to Mr. Buterin's recent proposal.

While Bitcoin supporters are voicing that "the founder of Ethereum has acknowledged Bitcoin's superiority," among Ethereum developers, cautious discussions are taking place regarding the timing and feasibility of transitioning to a new virtual machine.

Mr. Buterin himself stated that "in the short term, the effects may be difficult to see, but in the long term, it will definitely yield value," and the formation of consensus within the entire community is becoming a challenge.

For Ethereum to further develop in the future, it seems that an important key will be how to achieve both scalability improvements at L1 and L2, and the simplification of protocols.

Latest cryptocurrency news here

Source: Blog post by Vitalik Buterin

Writing and Translation: BITTIMES Editorial Department

Thumbnail: AI-generated image