On March 28, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin laid out a vision for the Ethereum network that emphasizes a higher standard for rollups, alongside a call for enhanced decentralization efforts within the ecosystem by year-end. This call to action follows the recent Dencun upgrade, notable for its significant reduction in transaction fees for layer 2 rollups, marking a new phase in Ethereum’s evolution.
Buterin delineates Ethereum’s transition from a period of rapid layer 1 (L1) developments to a future where layer 1 progress remains critical yet shifts towards refining and enhancing existing frameworks. He highlighted the transition of Ethereum’s scaling from a foundational ‘zero-to-one’ challenge to an incremental phase focused on expanding blob capacity and refining rollup efficiency.
The Ethereum co-founder stressed the necessity for stricter ecosystem standards, particularly for what constitutes a rollup. He suggests that by the end of the year, only projects that have achieved at least “stage 1” in terms of decentralization and security should be considered true rollups. According to Buterin, currently, only a handful of layer-2 projects meet these criteria, with Arbitrum standing out for its full Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility.
Buterin’s roadmap for Ethereum includes the implementation of data availability sampling to augment blob capacity and optimizing layer-2 solutions through various techniques like data compression and optimistic execution. He envisions a future where rollups are entirely code-dependent, reducing the necessity for human intervention in security matters.
The Ethereum co-founder also touched upon further anticipated changes such as the implementation of Verkle trees, single-slot finality, and account abstraction, which, while significant, do not equate to the foundational shifts brought by proof of stake and sharding.
Buterin analogized Ethereum’s ongoing transformations to an aircraft mid-flight, swapping out its engines in 2022 and its wings in 2023. He asserts that Ethereum is in the “Surge” phase of its upgrade roadmap, focusing on scalability through rollups and data sharding. The forthcoming “Scourge” phase will address issues related to censorship resistance, decentralization, and miner extractable value (MEV).
Concluding his reflections, Buterin encouraged developers to adopt a “2020s Ethereum” mindset, emphasizing layer-2 scaling, privacy, and innovative community membership proofs. He portrays Ethereum as evolving beyond a mere financial ecosystem into a comprehensive, decentralized technological stack, setting a bold course for the future of the blockchain.
