Charles Hoskinson, Vitalik Buterin Duke It Out Over ZK-Proofs, Ethereum Design

• Vitalik Buterin & Charles Hoskinson debate zk-proof efficiency, sparking wider blockchain critique on X.
• Hoskinson slams Ethereum’s design, citing Sybil attack risks; Buterin proposes Layer-Zero zkVM.
• Cardano founder Hoskinson questions Ethereum’s long-term viability and Layer-2 strategy.

A technical discussion on X (formerly Twitter) between Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson quickly blew up into a wider critique of blockchain design, governance, and the practical, real-world viability of zero-knowledge (zk) proof systems.

It all began with a mathematical musing from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who explored the theoretical efficiency of distributing zk proof workloads across multiple provers. 

A fun math aside, on the idea of splitting a large zk proving workload between multiple provers.

Suppose you have N provers, and you have a proving workload that you split into N parts (so, one part per prover). You require provers to pre-register, but registration is…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) May 21, 2025

Buterin proposed that by using open-access registration and fault-tolerant retries, the system could a…

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