The Ethereum ecosystem, led by Vitalik Buterin alongside researchers Yoav Weiss and Marissa Posner, unveiled the ‘Trustless Manifesto’ to preserve decentralization in the network’s development. The initiative emphasizes technical and operational changes that affect validators, Layer 2 developers, infrastructure providers and users. It proposes concrete measures—such as amending block construction and distributing validation power—to mitigate single points of failure and censorship risks.
The manifesto sets four guiding principles: credible neutrality, self-sovereignty and self-custody, censorship resistance and verifiability. According to its proponents, these are not just philosophy; they guide current and future technical decisions in Ethereum’s roadmap.
One of the most notable developments is EIP-7732, the Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS), selected as the lead item for the ‘Glamsterdam’ hard fork scheduled for 2026. ePBS aims to integrate the block construction auction into the protocol to reduce dependence on external relays and builders’ markets like MEV-Boost, which today introduce vulnerabilities and concentrations of power.
Developers face technical challenges: the so-called “Free Option Problem” and 8-second windows exploitable by builders require cryptographic solutions and auditable bidding mechanisms. Delayed execution techniques are also being explored to relieve the critical path and preserve performance without sacrificing decentralization.
In parallel, the adoption of Distributed Validator Technology (DVT)—implemented by projects like SSV Network and Obol—distributes validator keys and operations among multiple operators, reducing single points of failure and favoring participant diversity.
Practical implications for Ethereum
The manifesto also responds to centralized infrastructure risks: it cites the impact of the 2024 AWS outage on Coinbase’s Base network as an example of why reliance on a single provider can compromise availability and enable censorship. Platforms using multi-cloud strategies, such as Arbitrum and Optimism, maintained operations, according to data cited by the proponents.
The text and proposed measures could shape the market and technical trajectory of Ethereum. The following areas summarize potential outcomes identified by the proponents.
The next verified technical milestone is the inclusion of ePBS as the lead item for the ‘Glamsterdam’ hard fork in 2026, and its implementation will be the first real gauge of how much the manifesto translates into consensus rules and reduced reliance on intermediaries. Related: updates on DVT and ePBS trials.
