## The Trilemma Has Ended, but Ethereum's Ideological Choice Has Just Begun

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently posted on X, announcing a long-anticipated industry breakthrough: the technical solution to the scalability trilemma has become a reality. However, behind his statement lies a deeper question—once technical barriers are removed, what truly drives him to make way and define Ethereum's future?

According to Buterin's analysis, the dilemma that has plagued blockchain developers for over a decade has been broken. The core of this dilemma is: in theory, decentralized networks can only achieve two of the following three: decentralization, security, and scalability. Bitcoin achieved decentralized consensus in 2009 but sacrificed bandwidth. BitTorrent in 2000 had vast bandwidth and high decentralization but lacked a consensus mechanism. By 2025, Ethereum, through integrating PeerDAS data availability sampling and ZK-EVM zero-knowledge proof virtual machines, has achieved the first true unification of all three.

## Key Timeline of the Technical Breakthrough

This shift was not achieved overnight but was a gradual process spanning several years. According to Buterin's roadmap:

**Milestone in 2026**: The network will significantly increase gas limits without relying on ZK-EVM, driven by technologies like BALs and ePBS. More importantly, users will be able to run ZK-EVM nodes for the first time, marking the transition of this technology from research to large-scale adoption.

**Transition period from 2026-2028**: Gas price re-tuning and network state structure adjustments will unfold gradually. Effective payloads will enter "blobs" data storage solutions, ensuring that higher gas limits do not compromise network security.

**Transformation phase from 2027-2030**: Buterin predicts more aggressive increases in gas limits, with ZK-EVM becoming the primary method for network block validation. This signifies a shift from repetitive computation to verified zero-knowledge proof systems for transaction validation, fundamentally improving efficiency.

## The True Test of Ideology

Beyond technological progress, Buterin emphasizes a more fundamental challenge. Ethereum's mission is not only to solve engineering problems but also to become a "rebellious force" against the centralized subscription-based internet.

He proposed the "walkaway test"—a key benchmark to measure the network's true utility. Can the system continue to operate regardless of who maintains it? After developers disappear, can users still use the system? This decentralization must apply simultaneously to the blockchain protocol itself, node software, and upper-layer applications.

Currently, many applications built on Ethereum, while adopting decentralized protocols, still rely on centralized services and infrastructure. Buterin warns that this is precisely the weakness that next-generation technology needs to eliminate.

## Long-term Vision: "Distributed Block Construction"

Looking further into the future, Buterin describes the ecosystem's "Holy Grail"—distributed block construction. The goal is to realize a future where complete transaction blocks are "never assembled in a single location." Although such extreme decentralization may not be strictly necessary in the near term, Buterin believes it is worth pursuing.

This can be achieved through protocol-internal methods (such as expanding the FOCL mechanism) or protocol-external methods (such as distributed builder markets). Its value lies in reducing the risk of centralized intervention in real-time transactions while creating a "better geographical fairness environment," ensuring network access remains equitable regardless of user location.

## The Moment of Choice

Buterin's latest statement is essentially a report on technological progress and a declaration of ideology. The technical solution to the trilemma is now in place, removing the engineering excuses previously used to justify centralization. The remaining question is purely—will the community harness this power to build a "world computer" that passes the walkaway test, or continue chasing the next market cycle-driven speculative frenzy?