The Ethereum Foundation (EF) recently marked the tenth anniversary of the Ethereum blockchain with the launch of an ambitious new roadmap aimed at fortifying and expanding its ecosystem for the next decade. Ethereum Foundation’s New Roadmap In a blog post released on Thursday, the EF underscored Ethereum’s unique position in the blockchain landscape, boasting 100% uptime since its inception, a vast diversity of clients, and an economic security figure of $130 billion, derived from 35.7 million ETH staked at approximately $3,700 each. The Foundation asserted in its release that this figure could potentially reach $1 trillion in the future, or nearly 30% of the crypto market’s total capitalization . The foundation envisions Ethereum as a cornerstone of what it describes as the “internet of value,” capable of securing vast amounts of wealth over decades and even centuries. The roadmap emphasizes Ethereum’s resilience against various challenges, including threats from nation-states and advancements in quantum computing . The organization asserts that this resilience is encapsulated in the concept of “fort mode,” signifying that as long as the internet is operational, Ethereum will remain online, effectively integrating the digital world with on-chain functionalities. Lean ETH Philosophy On the offensive front, the EF is adopting a “beast mode” mentality, with a strategic focus on scaling both the Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 2 (L2) protocols. The foundation aims for significant performance improvements within the next 6 to 12 months, targeting ambitious metrics such as 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) on Layer 1 and 1 million TPS on Layer 2, seeking to balance performance and decentralization. The roadmap outlines a series of upcoming upgrades across Ethereum’s three fundamental layers: consensus, data, and execution. The “lean Ethereum” initiative calls for enhancements that include a revamped beacon chain, known as Beacon Chain 2.0, which promises greater security and faster finality; an evolved data layer referred to as Blobs 2.0, designed for post-quantum resilience; and EVM 2.0 for a more efficient execution layer that maintains compatibility with existing protocols. Central to these advancements is the incorporation of hash-based cryptography, which the EF identifies as a crucial element in addressing two major trends reshaping the blockchain ecosystem : the rise of succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge (SNARKs) and the impending risks posed by quantum computing. This cryptographic model aims to enhance the performance of Ethereum’s consensus, data, and execution layers, creating a cohesive and efficient architecture. Beyond technical upgrades, the EF describes “lean Ethereum” as a philosophy that embodies minimalism, modularity, and encapsulated complexity. The organization believes that this approach talks about the importance of formal verification and provable security, ensuring that ETH can scale responsibly while maintaining its foundational principles. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
