The path to more scalability, security and sustainability for Ethereum.
What changes are coming to Ethereum?
Ethereum is already a powerful platform, but it is still being improved. An ambitious set of improvements will upgrade Ethereum from its current form into a fully scaled, maximally resilient platform.
Cheaper transactions
Rollups are too expensive and rely on centralized components, causing users to place too much trust in their operators. The roadmap includes fixes for both of these problems.
Extra security
Ethereum is already very secure but it can be made even stronger, ready to withstand all kinds of attack far into the future.
Better user experience
More support for smart contract wallets and light-weight nodes will make using Ethereum simpler and safer.
Future-proofing
Ethereum researchers and developers are solving tomorrow's problems today, readying the network for future generations.
Why does Ethereum need a roadmap?
Ethereum gets regular upgrades that enhance its scalability, security, or sustainability. One of Ethereum's core strengths is adapting as new ideas emerge from research and development. Adaptability gives Ethereum the flexibility to tackle emerging challenges and keep up with the most advanced technological breakthroughs.
How the roadmap is defined
The roadmap is mostly the result of years of work by researchers and developers - because the protocol is very technical - but any motivated person can participate.
Ideas usually start off as discussions on a forum such as ethresear.chopens in a new tab, Ethereum Magiciansopens in a new tab or the Eth R&D discord server. They may be responses to new vulnerabilities that are discovered, suggestions from organizations working in the application layer (such as dapps and exchanges) or from known frictions for end users (such as costs or transaction speeds).
When these ideas mature, they can be proposed as Ethereum Improvement Proposalsopens in a new tab. This is all done in public so that anyone from the community can weigh in at any time.
What technical upgrades are coming to Ethereum?
Danksharding
Danksharding makes L2 rollups much cheaper for users by adding "blobs" of data to Ethereum blocks.
Single slot finality
Instead of waiting for fifteen minutes, blocks could get proposed and finalized in the same slot. This is more convenient for apps and difficult to attack.
Account abstraction
Account abstraction is a class of upgrades that support smart contract wallets natively on Ethereum, rather than having to use complex middleware.
Statelessness
Stateless clients will be able to verify new blocks without having to store large amounts of data. This will provide all the benefits of running a node with only a tiny fraction of today's costs.
