Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, mentioned on Friday he plans to construct a “cypherpunk-principled” layer as an built-in extension to the Ethereum community, concentrating on core enhancements like resistance to censorship, compatibility with zero-knowledge cryptography, and streamlined consensus mechanisms.
I am really attempting to do one thing much more bold:
Create “cypherpunk principled non-ugly ethereum” as a bolt-on to the present-day system, in a method that is as tightly built-in and interoperable as potential, after which develop it over time, in the intervening time ensuring…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 20, 2026
He estimated that in 5 years, or sooner, with AI-assisted coding and verification, the brand new layer might ultimately take over, and the present framework could be re-implemented into the brand new system.
Buterin’s remarks got here in response to a press release from a crypto neighborhood member who steered that he ought to abandon the unique Ethereum and rebuild a brand-new “cypherpunk chain” from scratch.
Ethereum, which powers sensible contracts and layer 2 scaling networks, faces ongoing criticism over fragmentation attributable to its proliferating secondary networks.
Associated governance proposals into consideration embody pressured inclusion lists aimed toward compelling validators to course of professional transactions, in addition to specs for enhanced pockets safety supporting multi-signature and quantum-resistant options.
ETH was buying and selling at round $1,960 at press time, down 4% within the final 7 days, per TradingView.
