lean Ethereum

Unveiled just after Ethereum’s 10th anniversary, “lean Ethereum” is a bold 10-year vision to transform the protocol into a quantum-resistant, high-performance, and elegantly decentralized infrastructure. The initiative introduces a dual-mode architecture: “fort mode” for ultimate resilience against threats like quantum computing and censorship, and “beast mode” for extreme throughput—targeting 10K TPS on Layer 1 and 10M TPS on Layer 2. This transformation will be powered by hash-based cryptography, real-time zkVMs, and data availability sampling, with upgrades across Ethereum’s core sublayers: Beacon Chain 2.0 for consensus, Blobs 2.0 for data, and EVM 2.0 for execution. The goal is to secure Ethereum’s role as the bedrock of the internet of value for centuries to come.

Key Ideas

Ethereum will adopt hash-based cryptography and zkVMs to achieve quantum resistance and massive scalability while preserving decentralization.
Lean upgrades will overhaul consensus (Beacon Chain 2.0), data (Blobs 2.0), and execution (EVM 2.0), enabling Ethereum to operate in both “fort mode” and “beast mode.”

Why It Matters?

Startups now can explore new product categories that leverage Ethereum’s upcoming performance and security enhancements. This includes launching scalable applications in finance, identity, or AI that require high throughput and verifiable computation, while benefiting from Ethereum’s decentralized guarantees.