At the Network State Conference 2026 in Singapore on October 9, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin reiterated that the protocol can advance without his direct involvement, as community members take on more responsibility. He described a more distributed leadership model and said artificial intelligence could accelerate the Lean Ethereum roadmap, a major overhaul aimed at making the protocol more efficient. In May, he already called for a smaller Ethereum Foundation focused on four priorities: censorship resistance, open-source development, privacy, and security. Buterin also outlined the walkaway test, meaning Ethereum should keep functioning even if a key team or person stops contributing. Compared with 2021, when he simply stated Ethereum would exist with or without him, the 2026 version comes with a defined list of priorities, a named test, and a technical timeline.
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