Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin says the network should eventually become more independent, arguing that the blockchain should remain usable and resilient even without constant updates.
In an extended X post today, Buterin framed this as a long-term test of Ethereum’s durability, calling it the “walkaway test,” and noting that Ethereum is “meant to be a home for trustless and trust-minimized applications, whether in finance, governance or elsewhere.”
As Buterin explained, Ethereum should host applications that work more like tools, “the hammer that once you buy it's yours,” rather than like services that stop functioning if the vendor abandons them. He added that the network should reach a point where it can “ossify if we want to,” meaning the network’s core rules could remain stable for years without requiring constant upgrades.
“We do not have to stop making changes to the protocol, but we must get to a place where Ethereum's value proposition does not strictly depend on any features that are not in the protocol already,” Ethereum’s co-founder wrote.
All Innovation Through Client Optimization
To reach that milestone, Buterin outlined several technical priorities, including quantum-resistant cryptography, a scalable architecture using zero-knowledge proofs, and a proof-of-stake model that “can last and remain decentralized for decades.” He added:
“Ideally, we do the hard work over the next few years, to get to a point where in the future almost all future innovation can happen through client optimization, and get reflected in the protocol through parameter changes.”
Buterin’s suggestion comes just a week after Zcash faced a governance shakeup, when the entire team at the Electric Coin Company (ECC), the for-profit company that oversaw Zcash development, announced they were leaving, following a dispute tied to the nonprofit, Bootstrap, that supports the project.
Josh Swihart, the now-former CEO of ECC, said in an X post that the team was “constructively discharged” after a majority of the Bootstrap board changed employment terms. He added that the changes made it impossible for the team to carry out its work “effectively and with integrity.” Despite the fact that the entire team announced it would continue to work on Zcash, just as part of a new company, the price of ZEC dropped by 20% in a day.