Vitalik Buterin Explains Why Ethereum Scaling Isn’t Always a Priority

by

Key Highlights

  • Buterin pointed out that developers pick Ethereum not just for their current needs, but for the future ones too. How visionary, right?
  • He suggests that instead of chasing infinite throughput, the focus should be on strategic improvements that actually make Ethereum safer and more usable. A real “slow and steady wins the race” approach.

So, here’s the thing. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently addressed why scaling Ethereum to infinity and beyond isn’t the end-all-be-all of the blockchain universe. His thoughts came in response to a tweet from Paradigm’s Storm Slivkoff, who was detailing the priorities for Ethereum’s roadmap. Apparently, scaling up to superhuman levels is nice, but not as urgent as, say, keeping the network secure and usable. Wild concept, right?

The argument for scale is that developers decide to build on Ethereum not just based on their application’s needs today but also its needs tomorrow, including in exceptional success cases.

But yes it’s possible that Glam changes plus client improvements alone get us to a very…

– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 26, 2026

Prioritizing quality over quantity

Buterin explained that developers pick Ethereum not just because of what it can do today, but also because they’re hedging their bets on future demands. The guy’s a real futurist. Sure, big scaling improvements could theoretically pump up throughput to a whole new level, but with upcoming Glam changes and client upgrades, we might already be golden for years to come. Why mess with perfection, right?

“It’s possible that Glam changes plus client improvements alone get us to a very stable state, and we could make the decision of prioritizing further scaling (the full 1000x) based on actual usage (and if it stays low, focus on non-scale goals before the full 1000x),” he wrote. In other words, let’s not panic over scaling unless we actually need to. Sounds pretty sensible, doesn’t it?

Slivkoff’s Ethereum roadmap priorities

Meanwhile, Slivkoff’s Ethereum roadmap isn’t pulling any punches with its priorities. Here’s what matters most:

  • Post-quantum security – HIGH. Because who doesn’t want to be ready for the quantum apocalypse?
  • Fast Layer 1 performance – HIGH. The faster the better, right?
  • Privacy features – MEDIUM. Yeah, we like our privacy, but it’s not exactly on fire yet.
  • Gigagas Layer 1 scaling – LOW. Sorry, Gigagas, you’re not invited to the party just yet.
  • Teragas Layer 2 scaling – LOW. Maybe next time, buddy.

Buterin agrees that scaling beyond what’s already planned should be put on the backburner until actual network usage shows it’s necessary. Let’s deal with the real issues before chasing an empty scalability dream. A wise man once said, “It’s better to build something solid than just something big.” Okay, maybe it was me just now, but still, you get the point.

Read More

2026-02-26 20:52