Ethereum blockchain co-founder Vitalik Buterin says the Ethereum blockchain’s capabilities need to be better explained to users in order to achieve true trustlessness, a common challenge across blockchain protocols.
Trustlessness allows protocols to function without developer oversight because the code automatically enforces rules. However, even if a protocol is so complex that only a small group can work on it, others actually need to trust that group.
Ethereum is already trustless because transactions and smart contracts are enforced by open source code and a decentralized network of validators, but Buterin said in an X post on Wednesday that the network still needs to improve user understanding.
“An important and underappreciated form of trustlessness is increasing the number of people who can actually understand the entire protocol from top to bottom. Ethereum needs to improve on this by making the protocol simpler.”
When asked how realistic this concept is given the trade-off between technical functionality and user understanding, Buterin said, “Sometimes it should be OK to have less functionality.”
sauce: Vitalik Buterin
Last year, crypto executives told Cointelegraph that confusion over crypto storage, regulation and other factors that tech-savvy people take for granted could push average users to the sidelines and away from the technology.
Further understanding required across all protocols
INTMAX, a privacy layer 2 built on top of Ethereum, agreed with Buterin and said the same principles apply to privacy infrastructure.
“If only five people understand how a privacy protocol works, you haven’t achieved trustlessness; you’ve just changed who you trust. Simple, auditable privacy architecture > complex black box,” INTMAX said.
Some have noted that deciphering the tech-heavy terminology used in some protocols can feel like a full-time job, or turn users away from promising projects altogether.
sauce: money ape
Ethereum aims for a better user experience
Ethereum’s roadmap acknowledges that Ethereum may still be “too complex to use for most people” and outlines plans to “drastically lower the barrier to entry” and make it “as smooth as using a traditional Web2 app.”
Related: Ethereum could become faster as gas limit increases to 80M in January
Some of the flagged upgrades aimed at creating a better user experience include smart contract wallets. It streamlines complex blockchain details like gas fees and key management, and reduces barriers to running nodes by making them accessible on devices like phones and browser apps.
The Ethereum Foundation also funds a wide range of educational courses and programs to help people learn more about blockchain development and related technologies.
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