Ethereum Foundation Unveils Plan for Layer Protection and Network Scaling

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has unveiled a comprehensive development roadmap aimed at enhancing the Ethereum protocol from now until 2026. The foundation's plan prioritizes three key areas: scaling the network, improving user experience, and safeguarding the base layer.

Protocol Priorities Update for 2026

— Ethereum Foundation (@ethereumfndn) February 18, 2026

“2025 was one of the most productive years for Ethereum. We successfully executed two major upgrades and made progress across all key areas. […] Looking ahead, we realized that to continue meeting community demands, our goals must evolve,” stated EF.

Scaling Initiatives

The scaling efforts will focus on maximizing Layer 1 throughput and enhancing data availability. Among the primary objectives are:

• Incremental increase of gas limits to 100 million and beyond via block-level access lists (EIP-7928) and ongoing performance assessments;
• Preparations for the upcoming Glamsterdam hard fork, introducing an integrated PBS mechanism (ePBS, EIP-7732) and adjusting transaction costs;
• Deployment of a validator client built on zkEVM, expected to be operational on the mainnet;
• Storage enhancements through the removal of obsolete data and a shift to stateless architecture using binary trees.

User Experience Improvements

The roadmap emphasizes native account abstraction and interoperability across networks. Developers believe the previously implemented EIP-7702 was a significant step, but aim to establish smart contract wallets as a standard that eliminates intermediaries and excessive gas fees.

Upcoming proposals, EIP-7701 and EIP-8141, seek to integrate smart account logic into the protocol, which will also support post-quantum security by replacing outdated ECDSA authentication methods. Additionally, the development of the Open Intents Framework will facilitate smooth interactions between Layer 2 solutions.

Base Layer Protection

This new focus area aims to maintain Ethereum's core characteristics amid scaling efforts, addressing three major aspects:

• Security: preparing for post-quantum challenges and enhancing execution-level protection;
• Censorship resistance: implementing FOCIL (EIP-7805) and devising metrics to evaluate the ecosystem's resilience against censorship;
• Network integrity: fostering testnets for secure updates and ensuring client compatibility during rapid hard fork cycles.

The Glamsterdam hard fork is slated for the first half of this year, followed by the Hegota update. Additionally, the foundation has seen a leadership change with Tomas Stanczak resigning from his role as executive director.