Buterin believes that true intermediary independence and blockchain autonomy depend less on formal indicators of decentralization than on the simplicity of its architecture.
He identified three risks posed by Ethereum's excessive complexity.
• First, it weakens the principle of intermediary independence: users must rely on experts to explain the protocol, which undermines the very idea of decentralization.
• Second, it threatens the network's sovereignty: if development teams disappear, users will find it difficult to use the network due to the excessive complexity of the system.
• Third, it reduces autonomy: even technically savvy users are deprived of the ability to independently analyze and understand the system's logic.
According to Buterin, when updates focus solely on solving user problems, an imbalance arises: developers are more willing to add new features than remove obsolete ones, resulting in the protocol gradually becoming overloaded with redundant code. To change this, Buterin proposed adding a "garbage collection" mechanism to the Ethereum development process. The goal is to reduce the overall codebase, reduce dependence on complex cryptographic primitives, and introduce more invariants—rules that will simplify the prediction and implementation of client software.
In the long term, Buterin hopes, it makes sense to move rarely used functions from the protocol core to smart contracts. This approach will reduce the burden on client software developers and make the system more manageable.
The Ethereum co-founder's post came after Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko stated that any blockchain should constantly evolve and update in response to changing user needs. According to Yakovenko, the protocol must also be useful to developers, so that they have a material incentive to improve the network.
Previously, Buterin expressed the opinion that Ethereum should reach a point where the network becomes self-sufficient and can function without developer influence—for decades to come. Buterin strives to make the network as decentralized as possible. Adding too many features increases the risk of bugs, security vulnerabilities, and unintended consequences for the protocol, Buterin believes.