In a recent Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Twitter, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin answered several questions from the cryptocurrency community. The session largely revolved around the pros and cons of MPC-based (EOA) wallets vs. Smart Contract wallets, which provided some intriguing insight into Buterin’s perspective.

Buterin pointedly criticized MPC-based externally owned accounts (EOAs), stating that they are “fundamentally flawed” because they cannot revoke keys. Resharing the keys, he argued, is not a valid countermeasure since the original holders of the keys could still retrieve them. He went on to imply that Smart Contract wallets should be the preferred option, though his statement elicited a variety of responses.

A Twitter user, identified as Trevor, disputed Buterin’s claim. He argued that key revocation would not be a problem unless there is a colluding quorum of former key holders, suggesting that re-sharing could provide the necessary security. However, Buterin was not swayed, stating that he did not want to “rely on a quorum forever”.

Ouriel’s ZenGo, a keyless crypto wallet, interspersed with various perceived flaws of Smart Contract wallets. He noted that these wallets are limited to ETH/EVM, are relatively expensive to set up and recover at Layer 1 (L1), and that smart contracts could potentially be revoked.

Buterin rebutted these points, noting that Bitcoin needs a technological upgrade, a point of view that he says has been known for more than five years. Regarding the cost of L1 setup and recovery, he acknowledged that it is an issue and further emphasized the need for Layer 2 (L2) solutions and more protocol support for smart contract wallets. As for the possible revocation of the smart contracts, Buterin sought clarification on what Ouriel meant, leaving the point unresolved during the AMA.