TL;DR

Walkaway Vision: Buterin says Ethereum must function safely even if all developers leave, highlighting the need to ossify and avoid dependence on ongoing human intervention.
Quantum and Scaling Foundations: He stresses full quantum‑resistance, long‑term cryptographic safety, and scalability to thousands of TPS through ZK‑EVM validation and PeerDAS.
Future-Proof Architecture: Ethereum must adopt programmable accounts, accurate gas pricing, durable state management, and a decentralization model that resists censorship and centralization for decades to come.

Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin has sharpened the network’s long‑term vision by outlining what the blockchain must achieve to survive even if its core developers were to walk away. His renewed focus on the “walkaway test” underscores a future where Ethereum remains safe, functional, and credible without depending on any company, leadership group, or ongoing human intervention.

Ethereum itself must pass the walkaway test.

Ethereum is meant to be a home for trustless and trust-minimized applications, whether in finance, governance or elsewhere. It must support applications that are more like tools – the hammer that once you buy it’s yours – than like…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 12, 2026

Ethereum’s Push Toward the Walkaway Test

Vitalik Buterin stresses that Ethereum should continue operating safely and usefully even if all core developers disappeared tomorrow. He argues that the blockchain must never collapse, freeze user funds, or become unsafe simply because upgrades stop. Highlighting the need to “ossify if we want to,” he insists Ethereum’s value proposition must not rely on features outside the existing protocol. This does not mean halting innovation; instead, Ethereum must reach a maturity level where it can thrive even without new changes.

Quantum Resistance as a Nonnegotiable Priority

A major pillar of Vitalik Buterin’s framework is achieving full quantum resistance. He warns against delaying this transition, noting that the base layer cannot afford last‑minute risks. The goal is to reach a point where Ethereum is cryptographically secure for a hundred years, providing users with long-term confidence. This foundation is essential for ensuring that Ethereum remains secure even in a future where quantum computing becomes mainstream.

Scaling Without Endless Redesigns

Vitalik Buterin also emphasizes the need for scalability that does not require constant architectural overhauls. Ethereum must expand to many thousands of TPS, driven by ZK‑EVM validation and PeerDAS data sampling. He adds that the blockchain state cannot grow indefinitely. Achieving partial statelessness and state expiry is crucial for keeping Ethereum operable for decades without overwhelming hardware requirements.

Future‑Proofing Accounts, Gas, and Decentralization

To complete the resilience roadmap, Vitalik Buterin calls for flexible, programmable accounts, moving away from hard‑coded ECDSA signatures. Gas pricing must accurately reflect computational costs and remain safe for both execution and zero‑knowledge proving. He also highlights the need to eliminate denial‑of‑service vectors permanently and maintain a PoS and block‑building model that resists centralization pressures.

Ultimately, Ethereum must evolve so decentralization becomes irreversible, ensuring maximum credibility for users. The market appeared to react positively to Buterin’s plans as ETH is trading above $3,000, increasing by less than 1% in the last 24 hours.

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Filed under: News - @ January 12, 2026 11:21 am