Authors: David C, William M. Peaster; Translated by: Deng Tong, Golden Finance
Vitalik Buterin's writing enthusiasm is high this year, with 25 posts published on his blog as of 2024.
Notably, his latest article is part of a series titled 'The Possible Future of the Ethereum Protocol,' with each article diving into a major aspect of the Ethereum roadmap:
Part One: The Merge: What Else Can Be Improved in Ethereum PoS
Part Two: The Surge: Vitalik: How the Ethereum Protocol Should Evolve in the Surge Phase
Part Three: The Scourge: Vitalik: Key Goals of Ethereum in The Scourge Phase
Part Four: The Verge: Vitalik: The Possible Future of Ethereum The Verge
Part Five: The Purge: Vitalik: The Possible Future of the Ethereum Protocol — The Purge
Part Six: The Splurge: Vitalik: The Possible Future of the Ethereum Protocol — The Splurge
Not surprisingly, these are some of the most fundamental writings we've seen throughout Ethereum's history; that is to say, there is still much to understand. Before diving into these articles, you may find that grasping the key points of each major upgrade helps to better comprehend Vitalik's technical writings on the Ethereum roadmap.
To this end, here is a quick start guide to help you get up to speed on the basics of each major upgrade.
The Merge
This upgrade was completed in 2022, marking Ethereum's transition from proof of work (PoW) to proof of stake (PoS), reducing energy consumption by 99% and enhancing network security through staking. However, Vitalik Buterin has stated that upgrades related to The Merge are ongoing.
The goal moving forward is to accelerate transaction confirmation speed, reducing wait times to 4 seconds. Vitalik stated that another goal related to The Merge is to lower the staking requirement from 32 ETH to 1 ETH, allowing more people to participate and help secure the network.
By accelerating confirmation speeds and making it easier for everyone to stake, Ethereum will become more decentralized without compromising its security.
The Surge
The goal of the Surge is to make Ethereum faster and more scalable, aiming to process over 100,000 transactions per second (TPS). This will be achieved by optimizing layer 2 and improving data storage technologies.
A significant part of the Surge is EIP-4844, which will be introduced in the Dencun upgrade in early 2024, adding 'blobs' — new block space for storing L2 data.
Next, the expected Pectra upgrade in 2025 will enhance Ethereum's management of these blobs, improving network bandwidth while keeping costs low. Data compression will also help reduce transaction sizes, further enhancing aggregation efficiency.
These upgrades will make Ethereum more scalable while maintaining decentralization and security.
The Scourge
Scourge addresses a significant challenge: the risk of centralization in Ethereum's staking and block creation processes.
Currently, building blocks (the process of selecting which transactions to include) favors big players who can use advanced algorithms to earn more money. This could lead to transaction delays or manipulation, which is detrimental to Ethereum's decentralization goals.
To address this issue, Ethereum plans to break the block-building work into smaller, more manageable parts. A proposal called inclusion lists will allow smaller validators to ensure certain transactions are included in blocks, reducing the power of large block builders.
Additionally, ongoing research into cryptographic memory pools aims to enhance security by hiding transaction details until they are confirmed. The memory pool is the waiting area for transactions added to blocks. Currently, anyone can view these pending transactions, allowing block builders to reorder them for profit (a practice known as MEV, or maximal extractable value). With a cryptographic memory pool, transaction details will be hidden until confirmation, reducing the opportunity for manipulation.
Additionally, Ethereum is seeking ways to reduce staking rewards to prevent excessive concentration of wealth within a small number of large validators. These collective efforts aim to maintain Ethereum's decentralization and protect users from exploitation.
The Verge
Currently, running a node requires storing hundreds of GB of data, which can be a barrier for many users. The Verge aims to change this by introducing 'stateless clients' that do not need to store all the data. Instead, they will rely on cryptographic proofs (Verkle trees or STARKs) to validate the blockchain.
A stateless client means that even a mobile phone or basic laptop can fully validate Ethereum. This will significantly expand who can help run and secure the network, making it more decentralized. In the long run, Ethereum's goal is to use cryptographic proofs to validate entire blocks, so that even low-power devices can quickly confirm that everything on the blockchain is correct.
The Verge is also considering replacing Verkle trees with more future-oriented alternatives to make Ethereum quantum-resistant, ensuring the network can withstand emerging technologies such as quantum computing.
The Purge
Over time, the Purge plan will make Ethereum leaner and simpler.
As blockchains evolve, they tend to accumulate increasing amounts of data that each node must store, making it more difficult for new nodes to join the network. Purge addresses this by reducing the need for nodes to retain all historical data and unused protocol features.
One of the goals of Purge is historical record expiration, where old data (such as transactions and accounts) is stored in a distributed manner, similar to how torrent networks operate. Each node does not store all past transactions but retains only a portion of that history, while other nodes store different parts. This way, Ethereum can maintain security and decentralization, but nodes do not need massive storage to join the network.
Another goal of Purge is state expiration, addressing the growth of 'state data' such as account balances and contract storage. This involves automatically deleting or archiving unused data over time, making it easier to manage Ethereum's long-term storage needs.
Additionally, the goal of Purge is to clean up old, rarely used network features and simplify the code to maintain Ethereum's efficiency and accessibility.
The Splurge
Splurge is the 'finishing touches' phase of Ethereum, focusing on various improvements that don't entirely fit into other categories, but are crucial for enhancing Ethereum's user experience and technical robustness.
One of the main goals of Splurge is to optimize the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) (Ethereum's core computing engine) to make it faster and more secure. This includes adding features like account abstraction, allowing users to create flexible, user-friendly accounts with advanced security options. Splurge also aims to improve the transaction fee mechanism to keep costs stable and fair, even with fluctuating network demand.
Additionally, Splurge is continuing to explore advanced cryptographic technologies that can make Ethereum more resilient to future technological changes (such as quantum computing). These upgrades aim to create a future-ready Ethereum, ensuring it remains a reliable platform for decentralized applications in the long term.
Summary
These six major upgrade phases are the pillars of Ethereum's development as a meticulously architected, balanced system of innovation and practicality. These phases are not isolated but intertwined, with each upgrade balancing current needs and future-oriented networks.
Through this layered approach, Ethereum is adjusting itself to be an excellent foundation for applications and interactions on a global scale — types of online applications and interactions that we all look forward to, as well as those we have yet to imagine. Along the way, the intentional design of the network will ensure that Ethereum remains adaptive, inclusive, and resilient.
