Vitalik's Views on Ethereum Technology, Ecosystem, and Future

Recently, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin participated in a Chinese AMA, engaging in an in-depth discussion on Ethereum's technology, ecosystem, and future development. Here are some key points from Vitalik in this exchange:

Ethereum's Positioning and Development Direction

Vitalik believes that the meaning of "world computer" is "a place where applications from around the world can interact with each other", rather than "a computer that can simultaneously support every global application". Ethereum needs to become a digital asset for long-term value storage, as well as an underlying platform that supports global application interoperability. These two goals are compatible.

He proposed the concept of "hybrid L1 + L2", which means that L1 and L2 need to develop in synergy:

• L1 must maintain sufficient throughput to allow anyone in need to interact directly with the mainnet.
• L2 is responsible for performance scaling and scenario innovation.
• The market will determine which transactions are suitable for L1 and which are suitable for L2.

The Balance Between Centralization and Decentralization

Vitalik pointed out that centralized sequencers have some advantages, such as preventing frontrunning and achieving fast confirmations. However, there are also risks, so it is necessary to maintain users' ability to send censorship-resistant transactions.

He emphasized that Ethereum is a decentralized ecosystem rather than a company. The Ethereum Foundation should focus on supporting public goods, establishing technical standards, and maintaining ecological balance, rather than pursuing corporate operations and profits.

Key Focus of Technology Development

Vitalik expressed interest in the following technical directions:

• Zero-knowledge proof applications in non-financial fields, such as identity verification, privacy AI, etc.
• Improve interoperability across L2
• Increase blobs to give L2 more space
• Improve L1 performance ( increase gas limit, introduce stateless verification, etc. )

Ecological Development Suggestions

Vitalik believes that good applications should:

1. Meet the real needs of users
2. Sustainable profitability
3. Possessing social value

He called for the development of more applications that meet the above three standards and align with Ethereum values.

Vitalik also emphasized the importance of education and suggested:

• Help developers understand the essence of blockchain
• Provide developers with easy-to-use underlying tools
• Establish clear technical standards

Overall, Vitalik hopes that the Ethereum ecosystem can attract more long-term value creators while maintaining decentralization and openness, and promote the implementation of meaningful applications.