TL;DR
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Ethereum creator (aka ‘ETH Daddy’), Vitalik Buterin just outlined three big changes the network is going to have to go through if it wants to succeed.
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Layer 2 rollups, which allow more transactions to be processed every second. Without them, ETH won’t be able to scale to millions/billions of concurrent users.
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Smart contract wallets would allow users to mimic a bunch of different banking/credit card-style functionality. E.g. fully automated payments (like subscriptions).
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Privacy. Blockchain transactions are completely public right now, meaning anyone can see how much crypto you have/how you spend it. Not great!
Full Story
Ethereum creator (aka ‘ETH Daddy’), Vitalik Buterin just outlined three big changes the network is going to have to go through if it wants to succeed.
According to Vitalik, without the following ‘Ethereum fails’:
Layer 2 Rollups
Back in the day, shipping stuff was a total mess.
But over the years, shipping companies learned how to pack cargo more efficiently, so they could ship more stuff in a single trip.
Layer 2 Rollups work the same way – every twelve seconds a group (or ‘block’) of transactions is processed on the Ethereum network, one after the other – in a chain (block-chain).
Rollups fit more transactions in each block by packing everything with greater efficiency (see picture ☝️).
Without them, the Ethereum network won’t be able to scale to millions/billions of concurrent users.
Smart Contract Wallets
Smart contracts are rules that say ‘If this happens, then do that.’
E.g. If Seb pays Chevy a 1 ETH deposit, give him a loan of 5 ETH, charging 5% interest per year.
Point is: they run automatically, following any rules you set for them.
Smart contract wallets would allow users to mimic a bunch of different banking/credit card-style functionality.
E.g. Subscriptions. If a user accepts the terms of a subscription deal, the smart contract will pay a monthly fee to a service provider, until told otherwise.
It’s an important feature for Ethereum to adopt if it wants to become a true banking alternative.
Privacy
Blockchain transactions are completely public.
Which means anyone/everyone can see how much crypto you have/how you spend it, as long as they have your wallet address (which is something you’ll need to share every time you make a purchase).
It’s a big problem – and it ain’t lost on Vitalik:
“having all transactions available publicly for literally anyone to see is far too high a privacy sacrifice for many users,”
Chevy gets teased by his mom for watching MAFS (Married at First Sight) on the family Netflix account.
…imagine if they learned about the NFTs he’s been buying.
WE NEED CHANGE.
