#美国贸易赤字状况 How far does Ethereum still need to go? Seeing the protocol's true maturity through "can be shut down at any time"

What does it really mean for Ethereum to have fulfilled its mission? Vitalik recently hit the nail on the head with a key judgment—the protocol must pass the test of "even if all developers exit, the system still operates securely."

In other words, current Ethereum still relies heavily on continuous maintenance and optimization. The ideal state should be the opposite: the infrastructure itself is robust enough, existing as objectively as physical laws, and not shaken by the involvement or withdrawal of any team.

To reach this level, the Ethereum community has a long to-do list. Quantum resistance, truly scalable architecture, sustainable state design, fully mature proof-of-stake mechanisms, decentralized block construction—these are not about chasing trends but about making the protocol itself more resilient. Vitalik's proposal is: at least one substantial breakthrough should be achieved annually in one of these areas.

This does not mean stopping innovation. Instead, it is a shift in the direction of innovation—from frequent hard fork iterations to fine-tuning at the client layer and parameter adjustments. Imagine, rather than constantly patching the house, ensuring the foundation's quality first. The long-term stability of $ETH ultimately depends on the resilience of the protocol itself. Only then can Ethereum truly become a trustworthy home for trustless applications.