Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum needs "simplification + garbage collection mechanisms" to prevent bloated code from causing drag

DeepFlowTech · 2026-01-18T09:41:19+00:00

Vitalik Buterin expressed concerns on the X platform about the complexity of the Ethereum protocol and the over-addition of features, believing that this could impact the protocol's long-term autonomy. He suggested addressing the impact on backward compatibility by simplifying the code and implementing garbage collection mechanisms, hoping that Ethereum's development can become more robust.

DeepFlowTech

2026-01-18 09:41:19

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Deep Tide TechFlow News, January 18th, Vitalik Buterin posted on X platform stating that protocol simplicity is an important aspect of trustlessness, through self-sufficiency testing and autonomy. Even with a high degree of decentralization, if the protocol becomes bloated due to hundreds of thousands of lines of code or complex cryptography, it will ultimately fail. Vitalik Buterin’s concern with Ethereum protocol development is that over-adding new features to meet specific needs can harm long-term autonomy. To address the issue of protocol bloat caused by backward compatibility over time, Ethereum’s development process needs clear simplification and garbage collection mechanisms. Simplification standards include minimizing code lines, avoiding unnecessary dependencies on complex technical components, and adding more invariants. Garbage collection can be implemented in a scattered or large-scale manner, such as replacing PoW with PoS, or downgrading low-frequency complex functions to smart contract code through Rosetta-style backward compatibility. Vitalik Buterin hopes that the pace of Ethereum’s transformation can slow down in the long run and strives to prevent useless parts from becoming permanent burdens on the protocol.

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