Vitalik unveils Ethereum's five-year roadmap: from ZK-EVM three phases to quantum-resistant upgrades

On April 20, 2026, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin delivered a keynote speech at the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival, publicly unveiling Ethereum’s technical roadmap for the next five years. This plan, covering 2026 to 2030, identifies scalability, quantum resistance, and ZK-EVM verification as the three core pillars, clearly outlining Ethereum’s full path from short-term execution layer optimization to long-term protocol solidification.

Vitalik reaffirms Ethereum’s core positioning in his speech: not pursuing the fastest transaction speeds, but becoming the world’s most secure, most decentralized, and always-online “world computer.” Based on this vision, the five-year roadmap is divided into three phases: short-term breakthroughs, mid-term state optimization, and long-term protocol solidification.

Why Multi-threaded Parallel Advancement Is Needed for Short-term Scalability

Execution layer scalability is the most urgent technical task in the next one to two years. Vitalik explicitly states that the next hard fork will include multiple EIPs, covering block-level access lists (to enable parallel verification), gas re-pricing, ePBS (execution-block proposer separation), and improvements to node state synchronization.

Among these, the gas re-pricing mechanism will align operational costs with actual execution time. During the Glamsterdam upgrade, the costs for state establishment will be separated from execution costs—SSTORE operations will be charged separately for regular gas and state-creation gas, with the latter not counting toward the transaction gas limit, enabling larger contract deployments. The gradual rollout of multi-dimensional gas mechanisms, combined with plans to increase the gas limit from 60 million to 200 million, aims to boost theoretical throughput from about 1,000 TPS to 10,000 TPS, with smart contract call fees expected to decrease by approximately 78.6%.

The introduction of ePBS structurally reshapes the power distribution in block construction. This mechanism allows a larger proportion of slot time to be occupied by block verification, rather than just a few hundred milliseconds, thereby improving verification efficiency while maintaining network security. These initiatives collectively form Ethereum’s multi-threaded short-term scalability plan, covering execution, validation, and block production across three dimensions.

Why Quantum Resistance Upgrades Are an Unnegotiable Bottom Line at the Protocol Level

The potential threat of quantum computing is moving from theory to reality. Vitalik explicitly states that quantum resistance is one of Ethereum’s five long-term protocol goals, emphasizing that it is an “unnegotiable” bottom line.

The technical challenge lies in efficiency bottlenecks. Existing quantum-resistant signature algorithms have been around for twenty years, but their signature sizes are 2-3 KB (current elliptic curve signatures are only 64 bytes), and on-chain gas consumption is about 200k (currently 3,000). Such resource costs are not economically feasible for deployment on the current Ethereum network.

Solutions are divided into two paths: in the short term, relying on hash-based signatures and “lattice + vectorization” schemes, with EVM vectorization upgrades to reduce efficiency loss; in the long term, establishing a comprehensive post-quantum security system through ZK-EVM and formal verification. Currently, research on optimizing quantum-resistant signatures is active, aiming to reduce resource overheads while maintaining security.

How the ZK-EVM Three-Stage Roadmap Will Reshape On-Chain Verification

ZK-EVM is the most structurally influential pillar in this roadmap. Vitalik announced a clear three-phase timeline: by 2025, achieving “sufficient speed” to enable real-time EVM execution verification; by 2026, reaching “sufficient security” starting with deployment on a small proportion of nodes (such as independent stakers); around 2028, ZK-EVM will become the primary method for verifying Ethereum chain data.

The 2028 goal is particularly critical. By then, mainstream ZK-EVMs will achieve 10-20 seconds finality per slot, enabling lightweight devices like smartphones and IoT gadgets to independently verify on-chain data without relying on centralized full nodes. This will fundamentally transform Ethereum’s verification decentralization—any lightweight device can participate in independent on-chain data verification, breaking the systemic risk of verification power centralization.

Why Account Abstraction Upgrades Are Key to User Experience Transformation

EIP-8141 is the core proposal driving user experience improvements in this roadmap. It redefines Ethereum transactions as a series of calls, with native support for smart contract wallets, gas fee sponsorship, quantum-resistant signatures, and privacy protocols at the protocol layer.

Traditional externally owned accounts (EOAs) rely on elliptic curve signatures. Account abstraction separates transaction origin from signature schemes, allowing accounts to adopt custom verification mechanisms. This means users can use social recovery wallets, initiate transactions without holding ETH (via gas sponsorship), and integrate privacy protocols. Vitalik emphasizes that this upgrade will significantly expand Ethereum’s application scope, lowering entry barriers for non-technical users.

Why State Layer Scalability Is More Challenging Than Execution Layer Scalability

On the technical difficulty front, state layer scalability is considered a “deep water zone.” Vitalik points out that while execution layer scalability is relatively easier to achieve, the infinite growth of the state layer is a more systemic problem.

The state size increases continuously with each new account or contract entry, and full nodes need to store all historical states to validate new blocks. The mid-term roadmap will focus on optimizing the state tree and exploring alternatives that do not rely on permanently storing all historical states. Early measures include the multi-dimensional gas mechanism’s independent accounting of state establishment costs—imposing economic constraints on state growth to incentivize application developers to optimize storage strategies.

Target Parameters for Maximizing Security Consensus and the Lean Consensus Path

In the long-term protocol goals, maximum security consensus is quantified: tolerating 49% node failures in a synchronous network, and maintaining 33% finality security in an asynchronous network.

The Lean Consensus mechanism is the pathway to achieve this. It combines Bitcoin-style “available chain” continuous block production with BFT-style “finality” confirmation, offering resistance to quantum attacks and rapid finality. Final confirmation is expected within 1-3 slots, approximately 10-20 seconds.

How Formal Verification and AI Assistance Will Build the Protocol’s Long-term Security Defense

Formal verification is another pillar of long-term protocol security. Vitalik reveals that Ethereum has begun using AI to generate mathematical proofs for automated security validation of core protocol components.

The core logic is that as protocol complexity grows exponentially, manual audits cannot cover all attack vectors. AI-assisted formal verification can mathematically prove code correctness, fundamentally eliminating smart contract vulnerabilities and consensus layer flaws. Coupled with the concept of “forward-looking testing”—ensuring the protocol can operate safely even if the core development team disappears—Ethereum’s investment in protocol solidification is shifting from passive response to active defense.

How the Timeline of the Five-Year Roadmap Creates a Predictable Engineering Delivery Rhythm

From an upgrade rhythm perspective, Ethereum has moved from fragmented updates centered on EIPs to an era of “predictable engineering delivery.” The 2025 Pectra and Fusaka hard forks demonstrated the feasibility of semi-annual upgrades; in 2026, the plans for Glamsterdam (first half) and Hegotá (second half) further clarify the engineering roadmap.

Glamsterdam, launched in late April 2026, is the first comprehensive testnet integrating ePBS and block-level access lists. This is the largest integrated testing phase since the merge in September 2022. Hegotá will extend to shorter slot times, anti-censorship mechanisms, and deeper upgrades like account abstraction. Combined with the three-stage ZK-EVM timeline and preparations for quantum resistance, Ethereum’s evolution over the next five years has a complete timeline from execution layer to consensus layer, from short-term optimization to long-term solidification.

Summary

Vitalik’s five-year Ethereum roadmap advances along three parallel tracks: short-term scalability, quantum resistance, and ZK-EVM mainstreaming. In the short term, Glamsterdam’s upgrade will boost throughput to 10,000 TPS through ePBS, gas re-pricing, and parallel verification. For quantum resistance, optimizing 2-3 KB signatures and 200k gas costs are the current focus, with solutions covering hash signatures, lattice cryptography, and vectorization. Long-term, the three-phase ZK-EVM roadmap centers on 2028, aiming to become the main verification method, achieving 10-20 seconds finality per slot and enabling lightweight devices to independently verify on-chain data. Account abstraction and state layer scalability support user experience and system sustainability, while formal verification and Lean Consensus underpin the protocol’s long-term security. The engineering cadence over five years signifies Ethereum’s shift from narrative-driven development to predictable, system-level delivery.

FAQ

Q1: What are the specific time points in the ZK-EVM three-phase roadmap?

2025: Achieve “sufficient speed” for real-time EVM execution verification; 2026: Reach “sufficient security” starting with deployment on a small proportion of nodes; around 2028: Become the primary verification method for Ethereum chain, with 10-20 seconds per slot finality, enabling lightweight devices like smartphones and IoT gadgets to independently verify on-chain data.

Q2: What are the main efficiency bottlenecks faced by quantum-resistant signatures?

Current quantum-resistant signatures are about 2-3 KB in size (current elliptic curve signatures are 64 bytes), with on-chain gas costs around 200k (currently 3,000). Solutions include hash-based signatures, lattice cryptography, and vectorization processing.

Q3: What are the main changes introduced by the Glamsterdam upgrade?

Glamsterdam is a major hard fork in the first half of 2026, with core changes including: ePBS introducing block construction separation of duties, block-level access lists enabling parallel verification, gas re-pricing and multi-dimensional gas mechanisms, and increasing gas limit to 200 million. The goal is to boost theoretical throughput to 10,000 TPS, with smart contract call fees expected to decrease by approximately 78.6%.

Q4: What does EIP-8141 account abstraction mean for ordinary users?

EIP-8141 redefines transactions as a series of calls, with native support for smart contract wallets, gas fee sponsorship, quantum-resistant signatures, and privacy protocols at the protocol layer. Users can use social recovery wallets, initiate transactions without holding ETH (via gas sponsorship), and incorporate privacy features, significantly lowering entry barriers and enhancing account security.