Vitalik Buterin Says Blockchain Evolution Requires New Cryptographic Technology

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said the growing complexity of the blockchain ecosystem requires new cryptographic technology to support privacy, scalability and security.

Wu Blockchain reported on September 24 that Buterin told a blockchain summit in Shanghai that blockchain is evolving beyond a simple standalone ledger into a broad cryptographic network spanning Layer 1 and Layer 2, mempools, off-chain computation and collaborative block production by multiple participants.

He said advances in powerful data analytics and artificial intelligence are making the limits of early public blockchains' privacy model increasingly clear. He added that SNARKs, STARKs, fully homomorphic encryption, or FHE, and formal verification are becoming core technologies for privacy, scalability and security.

Buterin said zero-knowledge technology is moving beyond long-term research and taking shape in actual Ethereum Improvement Proposals, or EIPs. He added that AI is also helping speed the development and verification of complex cryptographic systems.