Vitalik Buterin plans bolt-on cypherpunk layer to upgrade existing Ethereum

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, said on Friday he plans to build a “cypherpunk-principled” layer as an integrated extension to the Ethereum network, targeting core improvements like resistance to censorship, compatibility with zero-knowledge cryptography, and streamlined consensus mechanisms.

I'm actually trying to do something even more ambitious:

Create "cypherpunk principled non-ugly ethereum" as a bolt-on to the present-day system, in a way that's as tightly integrated and interoperable as possible, and then grow it over time, in the mean time making sure…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 20, 2026

He estimated that in five years, or sooner, with AI-assisted coding and verification, the new layer could eventually take over, and the existing framework would be re-implemented into the new system.

Buterin’s remarks came in response to a statement from a crypto community member who suggested that he should abandon the original Ethereum and rebuild a brand-new “cypherpunk chain” from scratch.

Ethereum, which powers smart contracts and layer 2 scaling networks, faces ongoing criticism over fragmentation caused by its proliferating secondary networks.

Related governance proposals under consideration include forced inclusion lists aimed at compelling validators to process legitimate transactions, as well as specifications for enhanced wallet security supporting multi-signature and quantum-resistant features.

ETH was trading at around $1,960 at press time, down 4% in the last 7 days, per TradingView.