Vitalik’s New Vision for Ethereum Foundation: Bug‑Free Chain, Intermediary Minimization, and CROPS Values

Vitalik Buterin posted a long, detailed thread on May 25 about where the Ethereum Foundation is going. He made clear that this is his personal view, not the official board decision. He says the board is expanding, and his own power within the organization will continue to decrease – which is what he wants.

The thread covers technical goals, organizational philosophy, and the EF’s limited resources. Let’s break down his vision in two parts: first, the EF’s new role and resource strategy; second, the technical roadmap for making Ethereum “deeply impressive” in the CROPS dimension.

Part 1: EF as a Smaller, More Opinionated Ship – Longevity Over Breadth

Vitalik starts by addressing a tension. He noticed that people would say “Vitalik says beautiful things about decentralization and privacy, but why don’t the EF’s actions reflect that?” Others, meanwhile, felt the EF was finally taking execution and business development seriously. Vitalik admits there is a genuine difference in which criticisms he takes most seriously. The ones that cause him pain are those that accuse Ethereum of drifting away from its idealistic roots.

He draws an analogy to Google. Google started with “don’t be evil” but slowly abandoned it. If he could go back to 2008 and make Google more “dogmatic” – giving Richard Stallman veto power – he would. Because one company resisting the trend toward greed and government pressure would have been better for freedom and balance of power. Ethereum should be that Unreasonable Man.

The EF is one node among many, with a defined purpose. For years, many in the ecosystem (even inside the EF) wanted it to be the center. Now they are taking action to ensure it will be the latter. The EF holds only about 0.16% of all ETH – less than many individual holders. Other blockchains’ central foundations often hold 10‑50%. The EF was originally designed to complete a limited scope (building the chain through the Serenity upgrade), which finished in 2022. It was not meant to be an eternal steward.

So today, the EF is choosing to use its remaining resources for longevity over breadth. That means selling less ETH to extend its runway. It will focus specifically on activities critical to Ethereum’s success as a censorship‑resistant, open, private, secure system – things that would not otherwise happen. This means making hard choices, even letting highly talented and respected people leave the EF, because that allows them to attract outside capital. The EF will be a smaller ship, more opinionated, but longer‑lasting.

The Technical Vision – Provably Bug‑Free Chain, Intermediary Minimization, and Available Chain Consensus

Vitalik says Ethereum must be “impressive.” In an age of AI and technological acceleration, a status quo EVM with a couple of hard forks a year is not interesting. Some people think “impressive” means 250ms latency and 1 million TPS. Vitalik believes that trying to compete on speed alone is a mistake. Being only a little more decentralized than others leads to mediocrity. Instead, Ethereum should strive to be deeply impressive in the CROPS dimension: censorship/capture‑resistant, open, private, and secure.

Provably bug‑free Ethereum. Until six months ago, this sounded absurd and impossible. Now, with AI‑assisted formal verification, it is on the cusp of being possible. Ethereum should be a frontrunner.

Available chain consensus. Ethereum is the only chain that has both traditional BFT‑style safety under asynchrony (high fault tolerance) and Bitcoin PoW‑style liveness under synchrony (safe up to 49% attackers). Bitcoin goes only for the second property. Most other chains go only for the first. Vitalik fought hard for this combination. It is not OK for Ethereum to rely on social consensus and hard forks to rescue the chain from 34% of nodes going offline.

Intermediary minimization. Currently, smart contract wallets and privacy protocols like Railgun have to send transactions through intermediaries to get included onchain. That is embarrassing and a constant point of fragility. Work on FOCIL and EIP‑8141 (and years of prior research) aims to make transaction sending intermediary‑minimized with a public mempool and strong inclusion properties. Kohaku is pushing this at the user layer, moving away from wallets that send private data to third‑party servers.

Vitalik acknowledges that some of these goals are “Unreasonable.” Ethereum might be fine getting only 50% of the way. But going halfway would not make it deeply impressive in the CROPS way. So they push for 100%. All these goals are compatible with high TPS. Well‑designed L2s help. Lower slot times are also possible thanks to erasure‑coded P2P research.

He notes that the highest‑value product of Ethereum, financially speaking, is ETH the asset – $250 billion of value secured. The properties he mentioned are very good for ETH. Nearly 90% of his net worth is in ETH. The rest is allocated to open‑source initiatives. However, supporting ETH the asset is partly outside the EF’s scope. Other heroes (some holding more ETH than the EF) need to step in. The EF is thinking about how to relate to and support such organizations.

Read also: Why Ethereum (ETH) Price Keeps Falling as Oil Nears $111

Our Opinion: Unbiased Take on Vitalik’s Vision

Vitalik’s thread is refreshingly honest. He admits the EF is not a central authority, holds limited ETH, and is choosing to become smaller and more opinionated. That is a mature, realistic stance. Many blockchain foundations act as quasi‑governments with massive treasuries. The EF’s humility is a strength.

The technical goals are ambitious. Provably bug‑free code via AI formal verification is a genuine frontier. If Ethereum pulls it off, it would set a new standard for security. Available chain consensus – combining BFT safety with PoW‑style liveness – is a unique differentiator. No other major chain claims that. Intermediary minimization addresses a real pain point for privacy and self‑custody users.

However, there are practical concerns. Formal verification at scale is extremely difficult. AI tools may help, but “provably bug‑free” for a system as complex as Ethereum is a moonshot. Available chain consensus sounds great, but it adds complexity. Real‑world attacks may exploit edge cases. Intermediary minimization is noble, but it could reduce the business model for many infrastructure providers. The EF’s shift to a smaller, more opinionated role also means less direct support for some ecosystem projects. That may leave gaps that others need to fill.

For ETH holders, the news is neutral to positive. The EF selling less ETH reduces sell pressure. But the EF’s reduced scope means less centralized marketing and BD. That could slow mainstream adoption in the short term. Vitalik’s personal commitment (90% of net worth in ETH) is a strong signal.

Overall, the vision is coherent and idealistic – which is classic Vitalik. Whether it translates into better technology and a stronger ecosystem remains to be seen. The EF’s transition will take months. Unbiased observers should watch for concrete progress on formal verification and FOCIL implementation. Words are good. Code is better.

FAQs

How much ETH does the EF hold

About 0.16% of all ETH – less than many individual large holders. Other blockchains’ central foundations often hold 10‑50%.

Is provably bug‑free Ethereum realistic

It is a long‑term research goal, made more plausible by recent advances in AI‑assisted formal verification. It is not realistic for the near future, but the ambition pushes the field forward.