While speaking at a closed press conference in Seoul today, Vitalik discussed ZK-Rollup technology and why the next few years should be proving grounds for blockchain application.
At a private press conference held in advance of EthSeoul today, Vitalik spoke on the long-term prospects of the protocol, focusing on scaling technology, quantum computing, and the challenges the network faces.
He focused on the next 10 years being crucial for blockchain technology and the applications that might have to prove their utility in the market.
He said, “I think the next 10 years is when crypto has to transform into something that is not based on promises of being useful in the future but is useful. Because a lot of applications are promising in theory, but they’re just completely not viable because of scaling issues today.”
He added that if the blockchain application fails to work once the “merge” is completed, there is a good chance that it “doesn’t make sense” to use the blockchain.
Speaking more specifically about the scaling challenges Ethereum confronts, Buterin expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming wave of Layer 2 rollup solutions, believing that zero-knowledge proof-based ZK-Rollups would triumph over Optimistic Rollups as the superior, if more difficult, technology.
He said, “ZK is a technology that’s just hard to build. There are many challenges, and Optimistic Rollup technology is more mature.”
Following his previous remarks at EthCC in Paris, where he stated that Ethereum would be “55 percent complete” following the Merge, Buterin also discussed how a “complete” Ethereum would perform in the far future.
“Ethereum will essentially be at a place where the protocol doesn’t need to alter after the big items—you know, the Merge, the Surge, the Purge, the Verge, and the Splurge. Layer 2 is where everything can be done.”
Buterin added that Ethereum would eventually need to consider quantum computing advancements.
Bloackchains have frequently been cited as a potential victim of quantum computing, but Buterin predicted that it would be some time before crypto developers had to make any adjustments.
