The second-largest cryptocurrency network is successfully overcoming the blockchain trilemma through the development of zkEVM and the launch of PeerDAS, according to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Now that ZKEVMs are at alpha stage (production-quality performance, remaining work is safety) and PeerDAS is live on mainnet, it's time to talk more about what this combination means for Ethereum.

These are not minor improvements; they are shifting Ethereum into being a…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 3, 2026

He predicts that by 2026, the first nodes of this new type will emerge, and gas limits will be increased. From 2027 to 2030, zkEVM technology is expected to become the "standard for validation." 

The long-term goal remains a shift to decentralized block creation, which will reduce centralization risks and ensure equal conditions for participants from any region.

“Now that Ethereum has PeerDAS and zkEVM solutions (expected to be used by small parts of the network in 2026), we achieve: decentralized consensus and high throughput,” Buterin noted.

According to him, the blockchain trilemma is effectively resolved, as the necessary technologies are already operational on the mainnet or have reached production-level performance, with only safety remaining to be addressed.

PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling) is a data availability sampling technology that has become a key element of the recent Fusaka upgrade. This protocol reduces the load on nodes and enhances the overall performance of the blockchain.

Record On-Chain Metrics

Ethereum's network activity remains robust. Alongside record transaction demand, the number of active addresses is also rising:

The monthly count of active addresses has surpassed 10 million, setting a new historical high. Source: Token Terminal.

The volume of on-chain transfers in stablecoins for the fourth quarter has set a new record, exceeding $8 trillion.

Quarterly dynamics of stablecoin volume transferred through the Ethereum network. Source: Token Terminal, X account of user BMNR Bullz.

According to Blockworks, in 2025, the issuance of "stablecoins" on Ethereum increased by approximately 43% — from $127 billion to $181 billion.

User BMNR Bullz noted that this trend reflects actual asset usage rather than speculation.

“These are global on-chain payments […]. The infrastructure is already in place, and adoption is gaining momentum,” he added.

The King of Tokenization

Ethereum leads in the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). The platform holds about 65% of the market share in a segment exceeding $19 billion.

Source: RWA.

As of this writing, Ethereum is trading around $3160. Over the past week, the asset has risen by 4.8%, according to CoinGecko.  

Notably, for the first time since July, the queue for Ethereum staking has exceeded withdrawal requests.