Vitalik Buterin Admits Ethereum ‘Backslided’ Over The Last 10 Years

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced a technical roadmap targeting 2026 to reclaim the blockchain's original "cypherpunk" ethos, admitting that the pursuit of mainstream scalability over the last decade led to a 'backsliding' in decentralization. He noted that the current system forces users to rely on centralized infrastructure like trusted servers and RPCs, compromising self-sovereignty. The plan focuses on deploying technologies like Helios and Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (ZK-EVMs) to make running a full node easier on consumer hardware, thereby eliminating reliance on centralized gateways like Infura or Alchemy. Furthermore, the roadmap introduces privacy features using Oblivious RAM (ORAM) and Private Information Retrieval (PIR) to prevent RPC providers from tracking user activity. Security enhancements include standardizing social recovery wallets and using decentralized storage like IPFS for user interfaces. Buterin acknowledged this is a long-term re-architecting of trust, aiming to secure Ethereum's future position.

(Source：BeInCrypto)