Vitalik’s Trustless Manifesto: Ethereum’s New ‘No Middlemen’ Rulebook 🚀

Key Highlights (Because You Can’t Trust Anyone, Not Even Us)

The Trustlessness Manifesto: Because Who Needs Friends When You Have Code? 🤖
Vitalik and Co. Warn: Convenience is the Devil’s Work, and It’s in Your Wallet. 🔥
Developers Told to Be Stewards, Not Lords – Because Who Needs Power? 🧑‍🌾

The Ethereum Foundation, in a shocking twist, has released a document called the “Trustlessness Manifesto” – because who needs trust when you can have code? 🧠

The manifesto says Ethereum’s main goal is to let people cooperate, make transactions, and use the network without depending on any middleman. It makes sure users keep control of their own money and that everything is open for anyone to check. Because nothing says “freedom” like a blockchain that’s as trustworthy as a squirrel with a secret stash. 🐿️

Signed the trustless manifesto!@thewizardofpos @yoavw

– vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) November 13, 2025

The manifesto itself is stored on Ethereum in a smart contract so secure, even the developers can’t touch it. Because who needs a backdoor when you have a blockchain? 🔐

Why Trustlessness Matters (Or: How to Lose Your Freedom One Convenience at a Time)

The manifesto highlights the danger of slowly giving power to intermediaries. “Every system begins with good intentions. A hosted node here, a whitelisted relayer there. Each is harmless on its own – and together they become habit,” the authors write. Because who needs a plan when you can just wing it? 🤷‍♂️

They explain that platforms can gradually turn into “landlords” who control access and actions. Trustless systems, in contrast, rely on mathematics and consensus rather than human goodwill. “Trustlessness is not a feature to add after the fact. It is the thing itself. Without it, everything else – efficiency, UX, scalability – is decoration on a fragile core,” the manifesto states. Because nothing says “robust” like a system that’s as flexible as a noodle. 🍜

Why Ethereum (Because No One Asked for This)

Ethereum is chosen as a foundation for trustlessness because it favors verification over blind trust. According to the authors, “We write code so that power cannot hide behind policy. We design protocols so that freedom does not depend on permission.” Because who needs a user-friendly interface when you can have a blockchain? 🧱

The manifesto emphasizes that Ethereum was not created for efficiency or convenience, but to give anyone, anywhere, the ability to coordinate freely without depending on unaccountable intermediaries. Because nothing says “democracy” like a system that’s as accessible as a locked vault. 🔒

What Trustlessness Means (Spoiler: It’s Not What You Think)

A system is trustless when anyone can join, verify, and act without permission or fear. The manifesto says this requires users to control their own actions, public verification of all events, resistance to censorship, continuity even if some operators fail, accessibility for ordinary users, and transparent incentives. Because who needs a safety net when you have a blockchain? 🪜

Removing any of these elements, the authors warn, shifts a protocol toward centralization and away from neutral ground. Because nothing says “neutral” like a system that’s as biased as a biased coin. 🪙

The Costs and Laws of Trustlessness (Or: Why Your Wallet is Sadder Than a Bank Robbery)

The manifesto explains that maintaining trustlessness is expensive. It requires openness, redundancy, complex governance, public mempools, and clients that anyone can run. Because nothing says “affordable” like a system that’s as costly as a spaceship. 🚀

The manifesto gives three important rules: don’t keep any critical secrets, don’t rely on any middleman that can’t be replaced, and make sure everything that happens can be checked by anyone. Every action on the network should be visible, and anyone taking part should be replaceable. These rules are strict, but the authors say they are needed to make sure Ethereum stays open for everyone. Because who needs flexibility when you have a rigid system? ⚖️

The Drift Toward Dependence (Or: How to Become a Landlord in 10 Easy Steps)

The manifesto warns that centralization often happens slowly through convenience. Hosted RPCs, centralized sequencing in some rollups, and reliance on upgrade keys or “training wheels” may feel harmless but create dependence on a few actors. Because who needs independence when you can have a crutch? 🦵

The authors note, “Trust does not return all at once. It returns through defaults slowly. Each choice feels harmless, temporary – not like centralization. No capture, no coup – just comfort.” Because nothing says “comfort” like a system that’s as cozy as a totalitarian regime. 🪑

A recent AWS outage illustrated this risk. Coinbase’s Base chain lost roughly 25% of its throughput due to a sequencer hosted on AWS, while Arbitrum and Optimism stayed fully operational with multi-cloud setups. Because nothing says “reliability” like a system that’s as dependable as a cat’s nap. 🐱

Delegation vs. Dependence (Or: Why You’re Not the Boss of Your Own Wallet)

Delegation is allowed, but the system must never require it. If participation depends on intermediaries, the system is no longer trustless. The authors cite email as an example: while anyone can technically run a mail server, spam filters and blocklists have made ordinary participation difficult, effectively centralizing the system. Because who needs freedom when you have a filter? 📧

The Duty of Builders (Or: Why You’re Not the Boss of Your Own Wallet)

The manifesto tells developers that they are caretakers, not controllers. Even small convenience features in the code can become points where power is concentrated. The manifesto reminds developers that they are stewards, not gatekeepers. Every convenience feature in the code can become a point where control is concentrated.

Building trustless systems takes work, computing resources, and careful planning, but it makes the system strong, stable, neutral, and free. It also needs to include rewards for participants without giving anyone extra control. Because nothing says “fair” like a system that’s as fair as a game of chess. ♟️

Preserving Ethereum’s Core Principles (Or: How to Keep Your Freedom While Everyone Else Loses Theirs)

As Ethereum grows, the manifesto says users should stay in control of their actions. Anyone should be able to see what is happening and take part freely. The rules should be in the code, not in private agreements. Joining in should be based on fair rewards, not on permission or reputation. Because who needs fairness when you have a ledger? 📋

“Trustlessness is not perfection. It is a system that fails publicly, transparently, and recoverably – rather than privately and silently,” the authors write. Because nothing says “transparency” like a system that’s as open as a book. 📖

Looking Ahead (Or: How to Stay Relevant in a World of Squirrels)

The release of the Trustless Manifesto aligns with Vitalik Buterin’s previous push to make Ethereum more cypherpunk through zero-knowledge proofs, account abstraction, and privacy-enhancing solutions. The document serves as both a warning and a roadmap, urging builders to resist centralization and keep Ethereum permissionless, neutral, and trustless.

“Trustlessness is not a feature to add after the fact. It is the thing itself. When complexity tempts us to centralize, we must remember: every line of convenience code can become a choke point,” the manifesto concludes. Because nothing says “caution” like a system that’s as cautious as a paranoid squirrel. 🐿️

2025-11-13 13:16