Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin says the network is evolving so dramatically that simply calling it a "blockchain" may soon become more of a historical label than an accurate description.
In a Sept. 27 post titled The cryptographic world computer , Buterin said that Ethereum's architecture is moving toward a hybrid system combining traditional blockchain ideas with zero-knowledge proofs, advanced proof-of-stake, privacy technology and decentralized offchain infrastructure.
Buterin essentially stated that modern cryptographic networks like a future Ethereum are only still being called "blockchains for historical reasons." He further drew attention towards newer blockchains already combining "core Satoshian ideas" with advanced cryptographic techniques that were either immature or nonexistent when Bitcoin launched back in 2009.
Ethereum's 'cryptographic world computer'
Buterin, by 2030, expects Ethereum to look very different from early blockchains.
Verification could shift from downloading and re-executing entire blocks toward sampling data through PeerDAS and checking cryptographic proofs, while consensus would move toward a more optimized proof-of-stake design with faster finality. Block construction would also become more distributed among multiple participants.
For users, he said, the changes could mean stronger censorship resistance, lower costs for specialized computation, improved privacy and lighter hardware requirements for running nodes. He also bats in favor of elevated computation and proof aggregation work to happen before transactions are finally onboarded onchain.
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Buterin described Ethereum's end goal as a "cryptographic world computer", pivoting the network's utility away from just serving as a dump-yard for computation and data – towards one combining onchain settlement with cryptographic privacy, verification and other decentralized offchain components.
He said Hegota, the fork planned for 2027, could be Ethereum's last "normal" upgrade. After that, the roadmap centers on recursive STARKs, automated formal verification, optimized consensus and quantum-safe cryptography.
Since being launched in 2015, Ethereum has outpaced competitors like Solana to become the most commercial blockchain in existence. As of press time, the total value locked (TVL) on Ethereum stood at over $52.9 billion, as per data by CoinGecko. Solana, Base, and BNB SmartChain lag far behind Ethereum.
Ether (ETH) was trading around $2,646at the time of writing, down about 1.5% on the daybut up roughly 8.3% over the past month.
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This story was originally published by TheStreet on Sep 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
