Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has detailed his goals for the Ethereum network as it enters the next phase of its development, known as the “Surge.”
In a technical blog post on Oct. 17, Buterin set forth objectives for Ethereum (ETH) to achieve more than 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) and improve interoperability between its layer-2 networks.
“Ethereum should feel like one ecosystem, not 34 different blockchains,” Buterin wrote, referring to the need for seamless communication between Ethereum’s mainnet and layer-2 solutions. He emphasized the importance of addressing current fragmentation within the network’s scaling solutions.
Buterin noted that 100,000 transactions per sec, a vital goal for the Surge: Vitalik Buterin
Rollup-Centric Approach and Challenges
Vitalik Buterin acknowledged the success of Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap, which was supported by the Dencun upgrade in March. The Dencun upgrade, which includes the Shanghai and Cancun-Deneb updates, introduced several scaling improvements, such as using “blobs” for cheaper data storage and lower fees on layer-2 networks.
However, Vitalik Buterin admitted that this approach has also brought new challenges. He pointed out that the development of trustless rollups, where layer-2 networks inherit the security properties of the Ethereum mainnet, has not advanced as much as anticipated due to technical concerns, particularly the risk of bugs in the code.
“Ethereum needs trustless rollups so that some L2s can inherit Ethereum’s core properties,” he noted, suggesting that trustless rollups are essential for scaling the network without compromising security.
Improving Ethereum’s Base Chain
The co-founder also discussed the need to scale Ethereum’s base layer to handle the growing transaction demand. He recognized the risks associated with only scaling layer-2 solutions while the base layer remains limited in its capacity. One solution he mentioned was increasing Ethereum’s gas limit, though he acknowledged this could lead to centralization concerns due to higher costs for stakers.
He proposed alternative solutions, including making specific computations cheaper without sacrificing decentralization. Examples include multidimensional gas pricing, reducing the costs of certain opcodes, and introducing new bytecode formats to improve efficiency.
In addition to technical upgrades, the co-founder emphasized the importance of improving the user experience across layer-2 networks. He called for easier communication between layer-2s, stating that “using the L2 ecosystem should feel like using a unified Ethereum ecosystem.”
Buterin’s proposals included enabling seamless token transfers between layer-2 networks without requiring users to bridge or swap tokens for gas fees manually.