Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin lays out plan for Ethereum to become ‘world computer’

Rage Comment : In order to make Ethereum a "world computer", developers do not need to build a new blockchain for each new application, but can easily create applications through the decentralization and security of blockchain. Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, has formulated a development plan for 2017-2018. The Ethereum 3.0 version released at the end of 2018 can achieve "unlimited" expansion of the platform. The basic technical advantages of blockchain reliability, security, auditability and decentralization are already well known, but the specific application areas remain to be seen. The DAO investors should wait patiently and seize the opportunity at the right time.

Translation: Nicole

Vitalik Buterin has outlined a plan for Ethereum development in 2017 and 2018. According to his article, 'Opportunities and Challenges of Private and Consortium Blockchains', Ethereum 3.0, which will have unlimited scalability, will be released by the end of 2018.

The success of Ethereum has brought attention to smart contracts

The Ethereum platform has become popular recently, especially after the DAO (Decentralized Anonymous Organization) funding and the subsequent increase in the price of the platform's currency Ethereum (from less than $1 to $15 in six months).

The differences between the Ethereum and Bitcoin platforms have been clearly defined. This recognition allows the operations of the world’s two leading digital currency platforms to focus on specific areas of interest. It also gives enthusiasts a fresh perspective to make the best investment choices.

The smart contracts brought by Ethereum are more popular. The programming of smart contracts is the basic principle of the power of blockchain.

Future Blockchain Arrangements

However, despite all the praise, compared to Bitcoin and the huge expectations for the Ethereum ecosystem, the Ethereum project’s future plans are currently expected to be between 2017 and 2018, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in his article ‘Opportunities and Challenges of Private and Consortium Blockchains’ published by R3.

Metropolis: The Mist browser is expected to be released in the summer or fall of 2016.

Serenity (‘Ethereum 1.5’): a version of the blockchain’s proof-of-stake mechanism (Casper) expected to be released in early 2017, including Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) 101 and 105.

WebAssembly release (‘Ethereum 1.75’): A faster virtual machine expected in 2017.

Ethereum 2.0 (unnamed): Initial scalability release expected in late 2017

Ethereum 3.0 (unnamed): The “unlimited” scalability version is expected to be released in 2018.

If any of these milestones are skipped, nothing will happen in the Ethereum ecosystem.

From blockchain smartphones to the world computer

As Buterin said, Ethereum's vision is to become the 'world computer', a platform that allows public economic consensus to meet the abstract power of stateful Turing-complete virtual machines, aiming to allow developers to easily create applications through blockchain decentralization and security without having to build a new blockchain for each new application. This is different from the previous protocol that was seen as a tool with only a single function, such as a pocket computer.

He wrote:

“Ethereum is the smartphone of blockchains: it’s a universal platform, whatever you want to build you can build it as an ‘app’, and Ethereum users can benefit immediately without having to download any new special software.”

He explained that all blockchains can store history and state transition rules, and any affirmative response to a transaction will be verified and included in the block. But in the Ethereum platform, this design is more complicated because this state can be described as all accounts, and each account is either an externally owned account (EOA) or a contract.

Contract code storage

As an EOA, the state only stores the account's ether balance, and the sequence number is used to prevent transaction replay attacks. On the other hand, it stores the contract code in a key-value database.

He wrote:

“In short, instead of enforcing a set of rules for a particular application, Ethereum allows users to write the program they want, upload it to the blockchain, and the blockchain translates the rules.”

This explains why contracts are used on the public Ethereum blockchain. Contracts have a variety of applications, including as a database that tracks assets that the issuer is tracking; as a 'smart contract' such as a financial contract, a third party that pays multiple parties for contracts such as auctions; and as a 'software code library'. This way, once anyone uses the contract, the code is published on the blockchain.

Buterin’s Question

Vitalik Buterin

He said:

“The basic technical advantages of blockchain, including reliability, security, auditability and decentralization, are well understood, but the application of these advantages in specific fields is not well understood.”

When will we understand these aspects? Once we understand them, what changes will occur?

He said: A massively replicated Turing-complete state machine, where anyone in the world who can afford to buy 0.3 cents worth of ether can upload the code, and every participant in the network is forced to run their local computer.

The platform is envisioned to accommodate tens of millions of users, so what if user access fees were raised in the future to prevent possible security issues?

Let's wait and see

In the meantime, while we wait for new features to be unveiled, the expedient approach is to focus on issues related to the Ethereum project and the impact that comes with it.

The DAO, formed with $168 million from 10,000 investors, is still being watched as a test case for its success.

However, the DAO will not become a mess unless DAO investors and the Ethereum ecosystem realize that Rome was not built in a day.