Buterin argues that the Ethereum network must undergo a "deprecation test" to verify whether the system can operate securely and efficiently even after the original creators leave. Developing sustainable applications is impossible if the underlying blockchain still requires the intervention of the development team or founders, or is dependent on vendor updates, the entrepreneur believes.

"Ethereum needs to reach a point where we can ossify. We don't need to stop making changes to the protocol, but we must reach a point where Ethereum's value proposition isn't strictly dependent on any features not yet in the protocol," Buterin wrote.

To achieve this state, several conditions must be met. The co-founder prioritized the mandatory protection of the blockchain from the threat of quantum computing. Quantum resistance must be a top priority, otherwise the pursuit of short-term blockchain efficiency could lead to its demise. Buterin believes that individual users should be able to choose when to update their software to improve security, but this is an unaffordable luxury for protocols.

"We must avoid the trap of putting off quantum resistance until the last minute for the sake of improving network efficiency for a while. Being able to say, 'The Ethereum protocol in its current form is cryptographically secure for a hundred years'—that's what we should strive for and be proud of," Buterin added.

He also noted the issue of network scalability, stating that Ethereum's architecture must be capable of processing thousands of transactions per second over long periods of time, leveraging the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), zero-knowledge validation, and the PeerDAS system, which allows validators to verify small amounts of data. Ideally, network scaling should rely more on parameter changes than protocol forks, and these changes should be governed by validator voting mechanisms similar to those used to adjust the gas limit, Buterin added.

The Ethereum co-founder also mentioned a state management system that should be resilient for decades, regardless of how much transaction volume increases. Buterin called for a fully abstracted account model that goes beyond the ECDSA algorithm—an elliptic curve digital signature algorithm. According to Buterin, the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm will allow Ethereum to remain decentralized for decades, and ETH will provide value as decentralized collateral.

The programmer recently stated that, to truly decentralize the network, developers should simplify the Ethereum protocol. The more people who can understand the protocol, the sooner the blockchain will be fully decentralized.