Vitalik Buterin is once again in the spotlight of the crypto community. This time, the Ethereum co-founder publicly supported the idea of revising the network's basic data storage model, proposing to adopt an approach that Bitcoin has been using since 2009. This refers to the UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) model, which, according to Buterin, could solve one of Ethereum's oldest and most painful problems — the network's ever-growing weight.
Why Ethereum "gets heavier" every day
The problem is fundamental in nature. Thousands of nodes around the world store a full copy of the Ethereum ledger, including all accounts ever created on the network. Records are never deleted, and every new address, even if it will never be used again, permanently increases the amount of data validators must process. A single account takes up 100 to 150 bytes, and this information remains in the system forever. Buterin has repeatedly warned about this problem before, noting that simple scaling through sidechains and L2 solutions does not solve the root problem of data storage on the main network.
A solution from 2009
In July, Ethereum Foundation researcher Tony Wärstadter proposed a solution based on Bitcoin's architecture. Instead of tracking total balances, the UTXO model tracks each specific "coin." In Bitcoin, after a coin is spent, only about a third of a byte of information remains in the system. The difference in scale is colossal: a billion accounts in Ethereum would take up to 150 GB, while a billion spent coins in Bitcoin would take roughly 300 MB.
This model also simplifies life for payment recipients. Currently, to receive a transfer, a user must already have ETH in their balance to pay the fee. Under the new scheme, the payment itself could cover the fee, making transactions more flexible.
Technical synthesis and criticism
Developer conall.gwei combined the UTXO idea with Buterin's proposal for batch processing of transaction checks. The block creator could publish a single consolidated file of 128 KB and process a huge number of payments at once. Buterin directly supported this approach, also noting the Utreexo project, which allows verifying coins without storing the full list of addresses.
However, not everyone embraced the new idea with enthusiasm. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson accused Ethereum of copying coin-tracking methods from his network, adding tension to the already competitive relationship between the projects.
A look to the future
Buterin sees the future in a hybrid approach: most operations will scale on L2, and anyone will be able to run their own node. The STARK technology underlying his Lean Ethereum plan is already ready to solve the blockchain trilemma. The Ethereum Foundation continues to introduce innovations: in February, priorities for 2026 were published, and recently the team changed its core cryptography to protect against quantum computers.
For now, the market is not reacting to scientific achievements: ETH is trading around $1903, up 1.28% over the day, but has been unable to break the $2000 mark for several weeks. The question of whether Ethereum developer teams will take up both proposals remains open.
My comment: The transition to a UTXO-like model is not just a technical improvement, but a shift in data storage philosophy that could dramatically lower the barrier to entry for running nodes. However, given the inertia of the existing ecosystem and criticism from competitors, implementing these ideas could take years. Nevertheless, this is the right direction: without solving the problem of the network state's growth, Ethereum risks facing serious scalability limitations in the long term.