{"id":362323,"date":"2023-10-04T08:45:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T07:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?p=362323"},"modified":"2023-10-04T08:22:23","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T07:22:23","slug":"vitalik-considers-implications-of-adding-zk-evm-other-features-to-ethereum-mainnet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/vitalik-considers-implications-of-adding-zk-evm-other-features-to-ethereum-mainnet\/","title":{"rendered":"Vitalik considers implications of adding ZK-EVM, other features to Ethereum mainnet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin recently wrote an in-depth blog post<\/a> exploring the question of which features should become official parts of the Ethereum protocol versus being built on top of it. This has been an ongoing debate as the network evolves.<\/p>\n

In the early days, Buterin explains, Ethereum strove to keep its base layer as simple and minimalist as possible. This aligned with the Unix philosophy of creating uncomplicated, flexible software. The goal was for Ethereum to provide a solid foundation for decentralized applications, with most functionality implemented through smart contracts built on top.<\/p>\n

Over time, however, some have questioned whether more features should be directly enshrined in the core protocol. But what does “enshrining” mean? Buterin defines it as making something intrinsic to the official Ethereum specification that client developers must implement. The alternative, “de-enshrining,” means removing a feature from the base layer and pushing it out to be handled by smart contracts instead.<\/p>\n

Pros and Cons of Enshrining Features<\/h2>\n

Buterin analyzes the pros and cons of enshrining several potential features. Enshrining can provide efficiency gains, more robust security, and censorship resistance. But it also risks making transactions more expensive, over-complicating governance, and reducing flexibility to meet unanticipated user needs down the road.<\/p>\n

Buterin uses account abstraction as a case study to analyze this debate. Earlier proposals like EIP-86 tried to make transactions just simple VM calls, minimizing protocol complexity but increasing miner responsibilities. More recent proposals like ERC-4337 still start outside the protocol but may later enshrine components for efficiency and security.<\/p>\n

Buterin explores enshrining several other potential features:<\/p>\n