Vitalik Buterin, a cofounder of Ethereum, recently listed four essential characteristics of a truly sustainable and scalable layer-1 (L1) blockchain. Buterin acknowledged that Ethereum and related networks still need to clear a number of technical obstacles before they can assert real-time scalability at the user level, even as they celebrated a breakthrough in real-time zero-knowledge (ZK) proof generation.
Buterin highlighted four main points that are broken down here. He emphasized that it is important to measure real-world blockchain performance under both average and extreme circumstances. Proof systems need to continue to function well under pressure in order for a network like Ethereum to grow responsibly. Only when it can manage extreme situations like abrupt increases in user activity or unforeseen on-chain congestion can real-time proofing be considered meaningful.
Formal verification is not available for existing proofing systems. Trust in these systems remains probabilistic rather than deterministic in the absence of explicit mathematical guarantees. It is unacceptable for L1 security to have that degree of uncertainty. Buterin's argument here emphasizes that before real-time proofing is deemed production ready, strict cryptographic guarantees are required.
Currently ZK-proof generation requires too much energy (~100 kW). For decentralization and practical adoption, Buterin imagines a future in which anyone can produce proofs at home using a setup of about 10 kW. This is related to Ethereum's long-term objective of democratizing infrastructure and making sure that large server farms are not required for network validation.
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Buterin restates Ethereum's goal to ensure the 100x L1 gas limit, which is a gauge of the amount of activity the network can support in a single block. Until the aforementioned problems — specifically the energy and performance limitations — are resolved, this is not feasible.
Ethereum, on the other hand, is displaying indications of a bullish breakout. With significant momentum, ETH has recovered the $2,600 region following a brief decline. A rising RSI and a falling wedge breakout point to fresh strength. However, to confirm a consistent move toward $3,000, volume must keep increasing.
