Vitalik Buterin said Ethereum’s top priority is system simplification during a conversation with Wanxiang Blockchain chairman Xiao Feng at the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival on April 22. His point was blunt: if the protocol becomes so complex that only 50 people can understand how it works, everyone else is effectively forced to trust that small group, which weakens Ethereum’s trustless foundation.
Simplification, in his view, starts at two different layers
Buterin separated the idea into two forms. One is application-layer simplification, where products become more intuitive and easier to use, similar to the clean experience people associate with the iPhone. The other is protocol-layer simplification, where the specification itself is reduced and clarified so that a capable engineer can read and understand it from the ground up. Both matter, but they solve different problems. Better apps help users and developers; a simpler protocol protects decentralization and keeps the network’s trust model intact.
He put hardware and security alongside protocol work
During the discussion, Buterin described Ethereum as a multi-layer system covering the protocol layer, application layer, hardware layer, and security layer. His message was clear: software improvements alone are not enough. Hardware development also needs sustained attention.
The article ties that stance to his recent technical direction. In April 2025, Buterin proposed replacing the current EVM with a RISC-V-based execution layer. The appeal, according to the source material, is its minimal specification: a full interpreter can be written in a few hundred lines of code, and execution performance for some applications could improve by more than 100x. That direction was later laid out in a more structured way in his May 2025 blog post, Simplifying the L1, which became part of Ethereum’s 2026 roadmap.
Post-quantum cryptography was framed as ready for serious adoption
On post-quantum algorithms, Buterin said the field is already maturing and added that he personally prefers GeoHash-type algorithms. He said Ethereum is aiming for both quantum resistance and AI resistance. In the source material, that goal is linked to the Binary State Tree upgrade and a broader rewrite of the execution layer, both intended to keep the system secure over the long term.
That connects directly with the “Walkaway Test” he mentioned in a keynote speech on April 20: Ethereum should be able to keep operating for decades even if no developers remain involved. For that to be realistic, the protocol has to be simple enough to understand and secure enough to endure.
Xiao Feng said Wanxiang is open to restarting Ethereum hackathons in mainland China
Xiao said Wanxiang Blockchain is willing to relaunch Ethereum workshops and hackathons in multiple mainland Chinese cities, giving the Chinese-speaking community more physical venues for ecosystem activity. The conversation moved between technical design and community expansion. Buterin also described Ethereum as a “public bulletin board,” where applications post information, everyone can see it in the correct order, and computation allows users to manage shared digital objects controlled by code.
His core message in Hong Kong was not about making Ethereum lighter for its own sake. It was about lowering the barriers to understanding, participation, and verification so that more people can engage with the system directly.