Ethereum’s creator Vitalik Buterin just declared victory over one of blockchain’s biggest puzzles, though the celebration comes with a timeline stretching to 2030.
Buterin claims Ethereum solved blockchain’s trilemma, but full implementation requires six more years of development and security hardening.
The puzzle in question is called the blockchain trilemma. It’s the seemingly impossible challenge of balancing three critical features at once: decentralization, security, and scalability. For years, experts believed you could only pick two. Buterin now claims Ethereum has cracked the code through two key technologies with live working code.
The first solution involves ZK-EVMs, a mouthful of an acronym that helps Ethereum process transactions faster without sacrificing security.
The second is PeerDAS, already running on Ethereum’s mainnet. Buterin describes the architecture as basically BitTorrent with consensus, which makes the complex system suddenly sound more familiar.
But here’s the catch: while the code exists today at production-quality alpha stage, full security implementation won’t arrive until 2030. This matters enormously because forged proofs could allow hackers to mint tokens out of thin air, rewrite transaction histories, or steal funds.
Ethereum Foundation researchers recently discovered incorrect mathematical assumptions in existing systems, prompting stricter safety standards announced in December 2025.
Buterin frames Ethereum as a rebellion against centralized subscription services that dominate the internet. He emphasizes that applications must function without fraud, censorship, or third-party control. This philosophy drives what he calls the walkaway test: could an application keep running even if its original developers completely disappeared?
The roadmap forward includes gas limit increases starting in 2026 through proposer-builder separation. Gas repricings and state modifications continue through 2028, while ZK-EVMs become the primary validation method between 2027 and 2030. Security milestones require 128-bit provable security by the end of 2026. These changes aim to transition Ethereum from a replication model to a verified zero-knowledge proof system for greater efficiency.
Significant challenges remain unsolved. Decentralized stablecoins need better reference indexes than the US dollar. Oracles require true decentralization resistant to manipulation by wealthy actors. Competition from staking yields also affects stablecoin adoption as investors weigh alternative returns. Meanwhile, competition from faster and cheaper blockchains keeps pressure on Ethereum’s scaling efforts.
Buterin’s aspirational goal involves distributed block building, preventing transaction assembly from happening in any single location, though this holy grail isn’t immediately necessary for current operations.
Active participation in network validation through staking participation will remain a key component of Ethereum’s security model and incentive structure.
