Виталик Бутерин: Ethereum как симбиоз BitTorrent и Linux для создания мощной и привычной финансовой экосистемы Headline: Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum as a Symbiosis of BitTorrent and Linux for Creating a Powerful and Familiar Financial Ecosystem

Ethereum merges the scalability of BitTorrent with the openness and reliability of Linux, as put forth by co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

He explained that the network aims for global dissemination without compromising decentralization, akin to BitTorrent. The main distinction, however, is the integrated consensus mechanism crucial for financial and social interactions.

The analogy to Linux is drawn from ideology: like the operating system, Ethereum is founded on principles of free and open-source code.

Both systems exhibit a clear delineation of roles in their architecture. The primary layer of the blockchain acts as a «pure core,» ensuring sovereignty, while applications and Layer 2 solutions serve to enhance convenience for everyday users.

*“Ethereum L1 should function as the financial home for individuals and organizations seeking a higher level of autonomy, providing them access to the entire network’s capabilities without reliance on intermediaries. The Linux example illustrates that this is entirely compatible with delivering value to vast numbers of people and can even lead to being beloved and trusted by enterprises worldwide,”* Buterin concluded.

He believes that this dual nature is not a weakness but a strength. The principle of trustlessness that Ethereum pursues is seen in the business context as a way to minimize counterparty risks. This condition is vital for attracting institutional players.

Buterin argues that Ethereum should prioritize scaling its throughput over reducing transaction confirmation times.

He noted that this second objective is technologically predetermined and secure, thanks to PeerDAS and ZK-proofs. Using these, the blockchain’s capacity could potentially increase by thousands of times without threatening decentralization. There are no insurmountable laws of physics here—only engineering challenges.

The second avenue—reducing latency—faces insurmountable barriers, notably the speed of light, which caps the speed of signal transmission between continents. Additionally, there are specific architectural requirements for Ethereum.

Buterin has acknowledged a moderate potential for reducing latency by three to six times (to 2-4 seconds per block) through the optimization of P2P connections and validator committee architecture. However, he deems achieving sub-second speeds at a global level impossible for a decentralized base layer.

He foresees that this niche will be filled by Layer 2 solutions and specialized blockchains. High speeds are especially critical for interacting with artificial intelligence; for AI processes faster than humans, even the speed of light poses a significant limitation.

Such systems will necessitate «urban» networks with nanosecond latency, achievable only within hyper-local Layer 2s.

*“Ultimately, Ethereum belongs to the planet Earth, and its Layer 2 solutions will cater to both the hyper-local needs of its cities and the demands at a planetary scale,”* the programmer concluded.

As a reminder, in early January, Buterin stated that the second-largest cryptocurrency network is successfully overcoming the blockchain trilemma through the development of zkEVM and the launch of PeerDAS.