Buterin Launches “Lean Ethereum” to Enable Smartphone Nodes by 2025

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin introduced a new roadmap called "Lean Ethereum" at Devconnect on Nov. 17.

The strategy aims to enable consumer smartphones to run full nodes within two years using Zero-Knowledge (ZK) technology, reducing computation requirements significantly.
Buterin acknowledged current challenges with bandwidth and storage costs but predicted these would be resolved in 12 to 24 months.
This aligns with progress in ZK-EVM proving protocols detailed in his "Ethereum (Roadmap) in 30min" presentation.
Ethereum's capacity increased as the network's gas limit rose by 50% this year, with plans to further raise it to 60 million.
Buterin supports Layer 2 scalability for managing network load and proposed "Block Level Access Lists" to enhance the Ethereum Virtual Machine's efficiency.

Lean Ethereum Philosophy

The concept focuses on removing legacy code and formally verifying software for security against attacks.
Buterin emphasized optimization over expansion and warned of potential quantum computer threats to Ethereum's cryptography by 2028.
He highlighted the importance of replacing centralized trust systems with verification mechanisms.