Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin emphasized the importance of gradually achieving stability and predictability at the base layer of the network, while most innovations should occur at the second layer (L2). He expressed this position during the Devconnect conference in Buenos Aires.
This is reported by Finway
Ethereum is Moving Towards Stability and Security
Buterin believes that for the further development of the ecosystem, the blockchain must become more resilient to changes, and innovations should shift to peripheral solutions such as rollups, wallets, privacy tools, and user applications. A stable and less flexible network, in his opinion, creates a predictable and secure environment for the operation of the protocol responsible for processing hundreds of billions of dollars.
“Over time, increasing rigidity is beneficial for Ethereum,” said Buterin.
He noted that as stability in the network increases, there are fewer surprises, providing additional confidence to users and developers. However, he believes this process is not linear: some components of the protocol may stabilize before others. For example, the consensus layer may become immutable, while the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) remains open to further improvements.
The Role of L2 Solutions and the Challenges of Quantum Computers
Buterin stressed that innovations will not disappear but will transition from the base layer to L2 solutions. Currently, most transactions are executed at the second layer, allowing the main chain to remain a stable and reliable settlement center.
At the same time, he acknowledged that changes have impacted the ecosystem: whereas Ethereum was once a platform for experimentation, it now more frequently observes the copying of successful practices, particularly due to the popularity of meme coins and the increasing influence of institutional participants.
Buterin also warned of a potential threat from quantum computers. According to him, by 2028, the current cryptography of Ethereum, based on elliptic curves, may become vulnerable to attacks. This means the community has only a few years to transition to quantum-resistant algorithms to ensure the network’s security in the future.
“Elliptic curves will disappear,” he stated, referring to predictions that quantum technologies could break current security algorithms before the next U.S. presidential election in 2028.
Changing cryptographic approaches, in Buterin’s view, will require coordination across the entire ecosystem chain, but the main changes will occur not in the already stabilized cores of the protocol but at its periphery.
It is worth noting that the Ethereum network recently underwent the Pectra update, and the launch of the Fusaka hard fork on the mainnet is scheduled for December 3. Meanwhile, IBM has already introduced the Nighthawk quantum processor and the experimental Loon model, which are expected to provide quantum advantage by the end of 2026 and stable quantum computing by 2029.