Vitalik Buterin spoke at a closed press conference on his way to EthSeoul in Seoul today. The Ethereum founder discussed the ZK-Rollup technology, the challenges a “100% complete” Ethereum will face, and why the next few years should be a proof-of-concept for blockchain applications.
Vitalik Buterin on Ethereum (ETH) and the future
Buterin is optimistic about the future of Ethereum, but thinks there are big challenges ahead. The Ethereum founder discussed the long-term future of the protocol at a closed press conference ahead of EthSeoul today. It focused on scaling technology, quantum computing, and the key hurdles facing the network.
Listening to @VitalikButerin talking about ideas worth building. First up all about ZK and applications that can be built with this emerging technology pic.twitter.com/mS0f6aBXhS
— rahat.eth @ home (@Rahatcodes) August 6, 2022
“Cryptocurrencies ‘have to turn into something useful’ by 2032”
Buterin argues that apps should soon prove their usefulness in an open market. On this, he says the next decade will be crucial for Blockchain technology:
I think the next 10 years is when crypto needs to evolve into something that doesn’t live up to promises of future usefulness, but is actually useful. Because in theory many applications are promising, but they are not completely viable today due to scaling issues.
ZK-Rollup and Optimism Rollup
Detailing the scaling issues facing Ethereum, Buterin expressed his enthusiasm for the next wave of Tier 2 rollup solutions, taking the stance that zero-knowledge evidence-based ZK-Rollup technology will prevail over Optimism:
In the long run, ZK-Rollups will eventually beat Optimism Rollups because they have these key advantages, such as not needing a seven-day pullback period.
Buterin says he’s still confident that some of today’s Optimism Rollup projects will be successful. However, he explained that he expects some projects to mark a turning point in the future:
ZK is a difficult technology to build. There are many challenges and the Optimism Rollup technology is more mature. They will be great. But I fully expect they will eventually switch to ZK at some point.
A 100% complete Ethereum and the challenges it will face
Buterin also says that Ethereum will be “55 percent ready” after the merge. He then shared his thoughts on how a “full” Ethereum would fare in the future:
After the big stuff – Merge, Surge, Purge, Verge, Splurge – Ethereum will basically be where the protocol doesn’t need to change. Anything can be done in Tier 2.
Buterin warns that Ethereum will need to account for advances in quantum computing in the distant future. He also says that at some point an upgrade is necessary for quantum security. It also proposed moving to “new forms of cryptography” that would be resistant to potential attacks.
Crypto skeptics often say that quantum computing will kill Blockchain technology. Buterin says it will take some time for crypto producers to make changes:
We are in constant close contact with AI researchers who continue to work on this problem and create better algorithms. But that’s a long way off, and it could be 10, 20 or 30 years from now.
