Buterin Maps Out Ethereum's Evolution Beyond Traditional Blockchain

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined his vision for the network by 2030, where it would still be called a blockchain but function very differently. In a post titled 'The cryptographic world computer,' Buterin described a system combining a blockchain with cryptographic proofs and networks of computers working outside it.

The current version of Ethereum relies on computers repeating calculations to check transactions, which limits the network's scalability. However, Buterin argues that newer cryptographic tools can break this constraint by allowing computers to process transactions and produce short mathematical proofs that they followed the rules.

Other computers could then quickly verify these proofs instead of repeating the entire calculation. This would enable different computers to tackle different jobs while still checking one another's results.