Buterin Urges Ethereum to Focus on Clarity Over Complexity

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Vitalik Buterin Urges Ethereum to Focus on Clarity Over Complexity

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: December 18, 2025

Key Takeaways

Vitalik Buterin stated that Ethereum must become simpler so more people can understand how it works and truly trust it;
He says real “trustlessness” exists only when systems run independently, not when users must rely on expert developers;
Buterin suggests trading some features for clarity, as a transparent design helps users verify Ethereum’s behavior themselves.

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Vitalik Buterin Urges Ethereum to Focus on Clarity Over Complexity

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Ethereum ETH $2,857.41 co-founder Vitalik Buterin suggested the network should focus on helping people better understand how it works if it wants to reach genuine "trustlessness".

In a post on X, Buterin stated that Ethereum’s design needs to become easier to grasp, not just more advanced.

Buterin explained that a system is truly trustless only when it operates autonomously through code, without developers needing to intervene.

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However, when only a few people can understand or maintain it, the rest of the community must rely on that small group, which goes against the idea of removing trust from the equation.

Ethereum already relies on open-source programs and a network of validators to enforce its rules and transactions. Still, Buterin said the network should do more to make sure users can actually follow how it all works.

He said, "An important and underrated form of trustlessness is increasing the number of people who can actually understand the whole protocol from top to bottom. Ethereum needs to get better at this by making the protocol simpler".

When asked whether simplifying Ethereum would mean giving up useful features, Buterin said, "We should be willing to have fewer features sometimes".

His point was that a system’s value comes from what it can and from how clearly people can verify its behavior.

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