The Ethereum cofounder suggested that the solution to Bitcoin’s issues with scaling could lie in solutions like rollups, but the network’s “weird politics” could hold it back.

In a Twitter Space hosted by Eric Wall and Udi Wertheimer, Ethereum inventor Vitalik Buterin shared his thoughts on how Bitcoin could expand beyond its role as a payment mechanism.

“Bitcoin has really weird politics, and they hold it back” @VitalikButerin https://t.co/P93tPf3cEI

— adammcbride.og 🔎 NFT Archaeologist (@adamamcbride) July 6, 2023

However, in his view, the fact that “Bitcoin has really weird politics” could be what stops these scalability solutions from being trialed and implemented on the network.

“I think if we want Bitcoin to be more than just payments, it will need scaling options like Plasma or ZK Rollups,” said Buterin, pointing to Optimism and Arbitrum as examples of successful rollups on Ethereum.

He recommended Plasma and zero-knowledge (ZK) rollups as potential scaling options to address Bitcoin’s slow transaction throughput. However, he noted that a fully compatible zk-EVM solution rollup comes with a fair amount of complexity. 

For a “middle conservative Bitcoiner” looking to pay lower fees, a rollup that addresses payments only would be a better alternative, he explained.

The Ethereum cofounder also believes that Bitcoin Ordinals is a positive development for the Bitcoin community, describing the protocol as “a real pushback to laser eyed maximalism.” 

(Wall and Wertheimer also got into the details on the perils of Bitcoin maximalism in an episode of Unchained).

Despite the perceived differences between the two chains, Buterin named several traits that both Bitcoin and Ethereum shared, including issues with Layer 1 privacy and claims of immutability.

“I think a world where there is at least one of these chains is better than one with none,” he said.