Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin explained the technical breaking point for blockchain to become truly self-sustaining.
In a January 12 post on X, Buterin said Ethereum needs to pass a “walk-away test.” This means that even if the core developers stop shipping major upgrades, the protocol must be able to continue running safely and remain useful.
He said Ethereum doesn’t need to stop evolving. He said it needs to get to the point where it can ossify if it wants to.
Ethereum itself must pass the walkaway test.
Ethereum is intended to be a home for trustless and trust-minimal applications, whether in finance, governance, or other areas. It should support applications that are not like… tools, like a hammer that you buy once and own.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 12, 2026
Buterin said quantum resilience is a top priority. He argued that protocols should aim to be cryptographically secure for decades and not wait until a crisis to rush changes.
Quantum computing is a threat to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology because it is faster and more powerful than traditional technologies, exposing current cryptographic techniques that rely on the time it takes to crack for their strength.
Read more: Quantum computing threatens the $2 trillion Bitcoin network. BTQ Technologies says it has defenses.
He also listed several other areas he would like to lock into Ethereum.
One is scalability. Buterin said the protocol requires an architecture that can reach thousands of transactions per second. He pointed to ZK EVM validation and data sampling through PeerDAS as paths.
The other is state management, which can handle higher throughput without making it difficult to synchronize nodes or save data. He also wants full account abstraction so that Ethereum can move beyond cryptographic ECDSA signatures. Elliptic curve digital signature algorithms are used, for example, to authenticate transactions on blockchains.
Buterin said Ethereum needs to have a gas or fee schedule that is resistant to denial-of-service risks. He also flagged proof of stake economics and block construction as long-term pressure points. He said these parts of the system must resist centralization and protect against censorship.
His desired end state is Ethereum, with most improvements coming from client performance and parameter adjustments. He said the protocol requires achieving at least one of these targets each year.
