Vitalik Buterin introduced the “trusted computing base” test, which evaluates how much code must be inherently trusted by users in a crypto application, advocating for minimalism to improve auditability and security.

Date

July 2, 2025

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To help the community assess whether a system is genuinely decentralized, Buterin introduced three practical tests. First, the walk-away test, where the question of the possibility of users retaining access to their assets if a project’s developers vanish, its servers go offline, has to be answered.Next, the insider attack test: How much damage could a corrupt insider cause? Lastly, the trusted computing base test: How much code must be trusted for security to hold?

Another test to consider is the trusted computing base test. Buterin asks the EthCC audience to consider just how many “lines of code are you trusting not to rug you.” Essentially, the fewer trusted lines there are, the more secure the system is. He believes it is fine for a system has millions of lines of code. The same goes for if the majority of codes are sandboxed or restricted from performing critical actions.

In his typical jeans and relaxed dark T-shirt uniform, Buterin laid out practical “tests” that he said every crypto project should pass. These include 1) the walk-away test. If the company behind an application disappears, do users keep their assets? And 2) the insider attack test: How much damage can rogue insiders or compromised front-ends cause? And 3) whether it has a trusted computing base: How many lines of code must be trusted to protect users’ funds or data?

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Week 27 of 2025