The Ethereum Foundation has released a long-term technological development plan for the decentralized network, set to be implemented by 2029. The updated concept of Lean Ethereum involves a comprehensive overhaul of the protocol, comparable in scale to the introduction of the Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm.
ForkLog examined the stages of the new roadmap, the necessity for post-quantum cryptography in blockchain, and how industry participants reacted to the revised scaling timelines.
Global Transformation of the Protocol
In late June, Ethereum researchers held a meeting in Berlin to define the long-term trajectory of the protocol. This in-person discussion followed April's talks with experts in Svalbard and resulted in the publication of Lean Ethereum.
The updated version of the plan, known in the community as the strawmap, was first presented by foundation researcher Justin Drake. Co-founder Vitalik Buterin then summarized the Berlin meeting. The document outlines the largest architectural transformation of the main smart contract network since The Merge.
Source: Strawmap.According to the roadmap, the modernization of the blockchain has evolved beyond mere incremental improvements. Developers announced a full-scale transformation project for the decentralized system, which will take three to four years to implement.
This initiative aims to accelerate the blockchain, reduce fees, enhance anonymity, and protect against quantum threats. To achieve this, specialists plan to change or significantly modify nearly all key elements of the system.
Five 'Guiding Stars'
The roadmap outlines five key objectives around which the entire network restructuring is centered. The developers refer to these as 'guiding stars':
- Accelerating the base layer. Currently, a slot in Ethereum is created every 12 seconds, and confirmation takes about 16 minutes. This timeframe is planned to be gradually reduced: first to 8 seconds, then to 6, 4, and possibly 2 seconds.
- Increasing L1 throughput. Developers aim to raise it to approximately 10,000 TPS through zkEVM and real-time proof generation.
- Scaling L2. Here, the target is significantly higher: to the level of 'teragas', around 10 million TPS. This leap is expected to ensure a new approach to data accessibility.
- Implementing post-quantum protection. Traditional mathematical problems will be replaced with hashing-based solutions, which are considered more resilient to quantum computer attacks.
- Privacy. Developers plan to introduce hidden ETH transfers, allowing users to send funds without revealing transaction details on the public blockchain.
The new Minimmit consensus mechanism is considered one of the key elements of the restructuring. It is expected to accelerate finalization time by 120 times—from 16 minutes to 8 seconds.
Glamsterdam and Hegota
Following The Merge, Ethereum updates have been given compound names: one part is derived from a city associated with Devcon, and the other from a star (for example, Cancun and Deneb together form Dencun). The next updates in this sequence are Glamsterdam and Hegota.
The first update is expected in the second half of 2026. One of the main components of the hard fork is ePBS. Another important element is Block-Level Access Lists (BAL), which defines the data required for processing a specific block of transactions. The primary goal of using BAL in conjunction with ePBS is to increase gas limits, reduce costs, and combat MEV.
The Hegota upgrade aims to improve scalability and optimize data management in the blockchain. As Buterin noted, this update is likely to be the last one "before the Lean era."
Cryptography, Consensus, and Speed
One of the most notable changes concerns transaction verification. In the new architecture, the classic verification mechanism will give way to the use of recursive STARK proofs. This high-tech system will become the fundamental computational component of the network, eliminating the need for each node to directly re-execute operations.
Privacy has been elevated to a top priority. In designing the mempool, creating interaction infrastructure, and developing other components, developers are incorporating the capability for secure transfers. At the same time, privacy must align with the next layer—post-quantum protection.
Theoretically, several key elements may be vulnerable: account signatures, validator signatures, BLOB objects, and parts of ZK systems.
The Ethereum Foundation plans to complete the transition to quantum-resistant algorithms by 2029. As an interim solution, the SPHINCS- method has been proposed, allowing accounts to be secured for just $0.07 without the need for a full-scale hard fork.
These measures aim to neutralize the theoretical threat of public-key cryptography breaches that could arise with the advent of powerful quantum computers in the next decade.
The Most Controversial Part
Buterin described the restructuring of state storage (data on balances, accounts, and smart contracts) as "the most radical part of the plan." The idea is to maintain the familiar dynamic state almost unchanged and scale it moderately while adding new types of storage—limited but designed for much larger volumes.
By 2030, the picture could look like this: around 2 TB of old-type state and up to 100 TB of new. The latter should be suitable for ERC-20, NFTs, and many DeFi scenarios, but not for complex objects like Uniswap contracts or on-chain order books.
Applications will retain the ability to operate under the old scheme, but for some projects, the transition will be economically advantageous. Buterin estimates that moving an ERC-20 token to the new storage scheme via UTXO could reduce fees by more than tenfold.
The question remains open as to who and why will store the growing volume of data. The formula "each node holds 1%" does not satisfy developers; clear incentives are needed. This topic has been set aside for further research, along with the development of a second virtual machine alongside the EVM.
Community Reaction
The plan has generally been well received in the crypto industry. StarkWare co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson praised the focus on recursive STARKs and quantum security but criticized the timeline as too lengthy—especially regarding quantum readiness.
My take on the new roadmap for Ethereum:
TL;DR - many good things, a few unclear things, still a few problems.
The good:
— Eli Ben-Sasson | Starknet.io (@EliBenSasson) July 5, 2026
- Recursive STARKs - excellent. Huge progress since the days where most of the Ethereum ecosystem was skeptical about the immense value of STARKs. This and… https://t.co/w8orL5eYWD
Former Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist suggested completing the plan in about a year and pointed to AI tools as a potential accelerator.
The Ethereum strawmap has lots of REALLY COOL features. Fully proven STF and scaling to Gigagas with finality in seconds gets me excited!
But 3-4 years is very slow. I think we should be ambitious and get it done in ~1 year. I think this is realistically possible now with LLMs. https://t.co/w1TW9RIiWw
— Dankrad Feist (@dankrad) July 4, 2026
However, some ETH holders are more focused on prices, fees, and yields than on architecture. One user noted:
“The strawmap update with ETH priced 1.8 times higher than at The Merge—that's the whole atmosphere. Three roadmaps behind us, and gas still soars to $50; it takes someone to actually start using the network.”
Another common question concerns timelines. Users wonder: if Lean is comparable to The Merge, when can we expect the "new Merge"—also in three to four years?
A third concern is validator motivation.
“Explain why to keep staking? On the day of The Merge, ETH was worth $1500,” writes one network participant.
In Reddit discussions, fatigue is evident: there are many plans, but fundamental issues remain. Commentators acknowledge the ambition of the roadmap but point out the technical challenges of smoothly transitioning old contracts to the new architecture.
What's Next
Developers are assessing Ethereum's potential for the next three to five years and discussing foundational aspects: quantum resistance, privacy, and new state architecture. For them, Lean Ethereum is a way to prepare the network for loads and threats that do not yet exist.
Some altcoin holders view this same roadmap differently. Their questions are simpler: why are fees rising again, why stake, and when will the asset's price go up?
The promise to reduce fees by more than tenfold and speed up finalization is precisely what users have long awaited. However, the effect will be gradual, fork by fork, rather than emerging from a single update.
Lean Ethereum sets a clear direction: to make the network faster, cheaper, and more resilient to attacks. The main debate is whether Ethereum can restructure its cryptography before real quantum threats emerge and whether users will notice a difference before the lengthy plan is completed.