Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a five-year plan to simplify Ethereum’s base layer. Titled “Simplifying the L1,” the proposal aims to reduce complexity, lower development costs, and improve security. Inspired by Bitcoin’s clean and minimal design, Buterin suggests setting a cap on the number of code lines in Ethereum’s core protocol. This would help Ethereum become more resilient and easier to maintain over time, ensuring the network stays strong and efficient for the long run.
Ethereum price continued to consolidate above $1,820 over the weekend, outperforming BTC over the 14-day timeframe.
Ethereum (ETH) Consolidates as Vitalik Shares Fresh Proposal
Ethereum held steady above $1,820 across the weekend, registering relative strength compared to Bitcoin, which slid below $96,000.
According to CoinGecko, ETH price posted a 14-day gain of 15.7% while Bitcoin price rally was subdued at 12% over the same period. Daily trading volumes for ETH remained elevated above $7 billion, reflecting robust market participation.
Ethereum price action (ETHUSD) May 4, 2025 | Coingecko
Investor sentiment appears bolstered by Vitalik Buterin’s latest technical commentary. The Ethereum founder posted on May 3 about the importance of protocol simplicity, stating, “One of the best things about Bitcoin is how simple it is… let’s bring those benefits to Ethereum.”
His suggestion alluded to streamlining Ethereum’s design, a move that may aim to address criticisms around execution layer complexity, state management, and overall maintainability.
While short on specifics, the proposal hints at a philosophical shift — one that favors reduced protocol surface area and improved auditability over maximal flexibility.
This comes amid a broader industry push for modularity, security, and composability. Ethereum’s resilience over the weekend and its outperformance signal that Buterin’s remarks may have struck a positive tone with short-term traders.
Buterin’s remarks triggered swift criticism from prominent Bitcoin maximalists. Alistair Milne quipped that Bitcoiners have been urging Vitalik to embrace simplicity “for a decade.” Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream and a legendary cypherpunk, delivered the most scathing critism.
“I literally told him so a decade ago, but they still haven’t learned about balance vs utxo or the complexity of state, “rich state fullness” mistake. Redirecting miner revenue to the insiders with PoS etc. At this point just flush it before it hits 0, and buy Bitcoin.” – Adam Back, May 4 2025.
Back blamed Ethereum’s complexity — especially the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) — for the recent ByBit wallet hack.
According to him, the EVM’s design makes it “basically impossible” for hardware wallets to verify transaction details reliably, creating exploitable vectors in real-world deployments.
From this lens, Ethereum’s initial ambition to support smart contracts without first building a minimal, robust foundation is seen as a strategic misstep.
The ensuing comments on X has further re-hased the long-standing ideological divide between Bitcoin maximalists, and Ethereum advocates over the last 24 hours.
What’s Ahead?
While Bitcoin maximalists dismiss Vitalik’s call for simplicity as a desperate pivot, Ethereum markets responded differently.
With ETH showing strength and price stability above $1,820, buyers appear to interpret the proposal as a sign of Ethereum’s maturity possibly moving toward more efficient fundamentals.
Despite criticisms from Bitcoin maxis like Adam Back, Ethereum price has evidently attracted buying more buying pressure that BTC over since Vitalik’s proposal on Saturday.
Ethereum Price Forecast Today: ETH Targets $1,950 on Vitalik’s Proposal Momentum
Ethereum price remains resilient, consolidating just below $1,830, while showing early signs of a bullish continuation. Price action is forming a subtle ascending triangle on the daily timeframe, suggesting accumulation beneath resistance.
Notably, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator reflects positive momentum, with the MACD line holding well above the signal and zero lines. This bullish divergence, confirmed by a widening histogram, hints at increasing buying pressure despite recent profit-taking.
Ethereum Price Forecast Today
Ethereum price forecast today shows ETH price is holding up well-above its 50-day MA at $1,784, while the 100-day moving average near $2,176 remains the first significant ceiling.
More so, ETH trending currently trading just above the 20-day EMA, which is turning upwards. The Stochastic Slow strategy has recently issued a sell signal (-2) on the daily close, but this appears to be weakening in effect as price fails to retrace lower, indicating that bears lack conviction to press further
Within these conditions, should Ethereum price break and close above $1,880, the path toward $1,950 opens with relatively little friction, supported by declining volatility and improved sentiment after Vitalik’s latest proposal.
A failure to break higher could see ETH retest $1,783, but sustained strength above that level could keep the upside momentum active.
Bitcoin’s price recently hit a monthly high, surpassing $87,000 and marking a notable rise for the crypto king. This rally is attributed to favorable macroeconomic conditions and the increased conviction of key investors.
Despite this growth, long-term holders’ profits have dropped to a two-year low, signaling a more cautious outlook among certain market participants.
Bitcoin Whales Remain Bullish
Whale and shark addresses, which hold between 10 and 10,000 BTC, have been actively accumulating Bitcoin at lower price levels. Over the past month, these addresses have purchased approximately 53,652 BTC, worth nearly $4.7 billion. This buying spree indicates that large investors are taking advantage of Bitcoin’s recent dip, believing in the asset’s long-term potential.
The accumulation by these large investors highlights confidence in Bitcoin’s growth. While some market participants might have been uncertain during Bitcoin’s recent price fluctuations, these major holders appear to be positioning themselves for future gains.
Bitcoin Whale and Shark Holding. Source: Santiment
The MVRV Long/Short Difference indicator, which tracks the difference between short-term holders (STHs) and long-term holders (LTHs) in terms of realized profits, is currently at a two-year low. This indicates that STHs are dominating the market, which reflects the whale accumulation. However, the dominance of short-term holders in profits often signals that the market is ripe for selling, which could result in downward pressure on Bitcoin’s price.
With the MVRV indicator flipping below the zero line, there’s a risk that Bitcoin’s price could be negatively impacted if STHs decide to cash out. While whales continue to accumulate, the growing influence of STHs could lead to increased volatility, especially if the market sentiment shifts.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $87,463, holding above the crucial support level of $86,822. The last time Bitcoin failed to secure this support, the price fell significantly. However, if Bitcoin can maintain support at $86,822, it could move toward the next resistance level at $89,800.
Breaking through the $90,000 mark is a key milestone for Bitcoin. If Bitcoin can reclaim $90,000 as support, it will likely continue its upward trend. This psychological level is crucial for bolstering investor confidence, which would drive further price increases.
On the downside, if Bitcoin faces bearish momentum, it could struggle to hold support at $86,822. A drop through this level would likely lead to a further decline, with the next support level at $85,204. If this fails, Bitcoin could slide to $82,503, erasing a significant portion of the recent gains.
The Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin has witnessed a surge of over 100% in its 24-hour trading volume. This development has occurred thanks to recent developments in the Ripple ecosystem, which will ultimately boost the stablecoin’s adoption.
Ripple USD Stablecoin Volume Surges Over 100%, Here’s Why
CoinMarketCap data shows that the Ripple USD stablecoin volume has surged by 120% in the last 24 hours, indicating increased activity around the stablecoin. This development is a positive for the stablecoin, which launched in December last year but has already achieved a market cap of almost $300 million.
The recent surge in the RLUSD stablecoin’s volume is thanks to developments such as Ripple’s 1.25 billion acquisition of the prime broker Hidden Road.
Following the announcement of the acquisition, the crypto firm mentioned that the move would reinforce the stablecoin’s position as an “enterprise-grade USD-backed stablecoin with real utility” as the prime broker leveraged it as collateral across its prime brokerage products.
As such, the stablecoin is already enjoying wider adoption, although the Hidden Road deal is still subject to regulatory approval. Another reason the Ripple USD stablecoin’s volume has surged is due to the crypto firm’s integration of the stablecoin into its payment service.
As CoinGape reported, Ripple integrated its stablecoin with its cross-border payment service, setting up the stablecoin for more enterprise adoption. With Ripple’s payment service booming, especially with the SEC lawsuit, the stablecoin will continue to enjoy wider adoption,, and its trading volume will likely continue to surge in the foreseeable future.
The RLUSD stablecoin’s volume has also surged thanks to Kraken’s recent listing of the stablecoin. Earlier this month, the top crypto exchange announced that the stablecoin is now available for trading, with deposits and withdrawals enabled. Kraken’s listing further provides more utility for the stablecoin as traders move to trade several crypto assets in their RLUSD pair.
Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that the stablecoin’s surge undoubtedly provides a bullish outlook for XRP, as this surge indicates that more capital is flowing to the XRP Ledger (XRPL), which is also home to the altcoin.
