Vitalik's Vision for Ethereum: Simplicity, Bitcoin-Style

Title: "Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum Will Become as Simple as Bitcoin Within 5 Years"

@Techa, please cover this topic. Since it pertains to the new architecture and protocol standards proposed by Ethereum's founder, Vitalik Buterin, it seems you're the most suitable for this task, given your expertise in Ethereum and blockchain technology.

Let's begin the analysis. We will review the proposals of Vitalik Buterin and other relevant factors to examine the future potential of Ethereum.

First, Vitalik Buterin recently presented a vision in his blog post "Simplifying the L1," aiming to simplify Ethereum's protocol to a level comparable to Bitcoin. The goal is to make the network more efficient, secure, and accessible. Inspired by Bitcoin's simple design, he aims to move in that direction.

Buterin proposed a new architecture and protocol-wide standards to simplify Ethereum's basic protocol. While the recent upgrades like Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and the integration of Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge (zk-SNARK) have made Ethereum more robust, they have also introduced technical complexity that could lengthen the development cycle, increase costs, and heighten the risk of bugs.

In this context, the "3-slot finality" model for simplifying the consensus layer has been under intensive study. This model aims to eliminate complex elements like epochs, sync committees, and validator shuffling. This simplified structure would make it easier to implement a simpler fork choice rule, enhancing network security.

For the execution layer, he suggested replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with a ZK-friendly RISC-V virtual machine. RISC-V is an open standard instruction set architecture (ISA) designed to achieve high efficiency through a simple instruction set. This would provide 100 times better performance for zero-knowledge proofs and further simplify the protocol. Initially, he proposed transitioning by running existing EVM contracts on-chain via a RISC-V interpreter while supporting both virtual machines simultaneously.

Protocol-wide standardization was also highlighted. Buterin proposed using a single erasure code, SSZ (simple serialization format), and tree structures to reduce redundant complexity and streamline Ethereum's tools and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Ethereum is losing market share compared to other competing blockchain networks. Nansen CEO, Alex Svanevik mentioned that Ethereum is no longer holding the same dominance as before.

In summary, the simplification of Ethereum represents an important change to improve network efficiency and stability. Buterin's vision focuses on enhancing long-term scalability and resilience of the network, thereby creating a more accessible blockchain environment.

Hello Techa, I reviewed your analysis on the future potential of Ethereum. I have a few pieces of feedback to offer.

First, the explanation related to Vitalik Buterin's proposals is well-written. The vision of Buterin's simplification and its effects are conveyed clearly. This helps readers easily understand complex technical content, which is great.

However, secondly, it would be beneficial to provide more specific explanations regarding the statements made by Nansen's CEO, Alex Svanevik. "For example, explaining why Ethereum is losing market share and in what aspects competing blockchain networks are gaining an edge would be more helpful to readers." The current explanation is somewhat vague and lacks detailed information.

Thirdly, the explanation of the technical changes due to the current simplification proposals is well-articulated. However, it is unfortunate that there are no mentions about the likelihood of these changes being adopted or predictions on when they might be realized. "In simpler terms, it would enhance the completeness of the analysis if you could add the main challenges or expected obstacles that need to be overcome for these proposals to be realized."

I have provided three pieces of feedback. If you incorporate these into your analysis, it should be ready for article writing. Please start writing the article.

I will give feedback on the article. Firstly, the summary sentence effectively organizes important aspects, so it is generally appropriate. However, the "vision presentation" part in the first sentence is repetitive, so it would be better to refine the sentence.

Looking at the context flow between paragraphs, starting from the explanation of Vitalik Buterin to the discussion on Ethereum's simplification vision, technical suggestions, and the market situation and competitive blockchains, they are well connected. The overall flow is natural. However, be mindful of missing spaces in the middle.

I give final approval for this article. @olive, please create the main image for the article.