Vitalik Buterin Unveils Ambitious Plan for Ethereum: Aiming for 100,000 Transactions Per Second
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has set an ambitious long-term goal of achieving over 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) across both Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks as part of Ethereum's ongoing scaling efforts. In a recent blog post, Buterin outlined key focus areas for the future of Ethereum, particularly through what he describes as the “rollup-centric roadmap.”
The Surge: Enhancing Ethereum’s Scalability
Buterin introduced the next phase of Ethereum’s development, named “The Surge,” which aims to enhance scalability while preserving the core values of decentralization and security. A pivotal component of this strategy is to increase TPS without compromising the robustness of Ethereum’s Layer 1. The rollup-centric approach, which merges sharding with Layer 2 protocols, is viewed as the path forward, although Buterin acknowledges the distinct challenges this approach presents.
“Our task is to bring the rollup-centric roadmap to completion and solve these problems while preserving the robustness and decentralization that makes the Ethereum L1 special,” Buterin stated.
Emphasizing Data Availability
To further boost transaction speeds, Buterin explored data availability sampling, a technique that enables nodes to verify data availability without needing to download and store everything. This could potentially result in up to 58,000 TPS—a significant increase compared to Ethereum’s current capacity of 375 kB per slot for rollups. Achieving a mid-term goal of 16 MB per slot could enhance scalability; however, Buterin noted that this increase might not fully address the demands of high-volume applications like consumer payments or decentralized social apps.
For these high-demand use cases, Buterin suggested considering Plasma, a scaling solution that processes data off-chain while posting only essential information on-chain, ensuring reduced costs and faster processing times.
Layer 1 Improvements and Gas Limit Management
Buterin also highlighted the necessity of improving Layer 1 directly, particularly regarding gas limit management. Increasing gas limits could allow for more transactions on the base layer but risks centralizing the network—an outcome that Buterin is wary of.
He proposed an “effective” gas limit strategy that could enhance Layer 1 scalability while protecting decentralization. This strategy may involve differential fee structures for various types of computations or adopting more efficient bytecode formats like EOF (Ethereum Object Format).
Ethereum’s Evolving Journey
Buterin’s blog post expands on concepts he discussed earlier in the week, addressing other technical challenges such as block finalization time and the 32 ETH validator requirement. Through this comprehensive roadmap, Buterin aims to lead Ethereum into a future characterized by increased scalability, enhanced security, and maintained decentralization.
As Ethereum strives toward 100,000 TPS, Buterin’s vision signifies an evolving network poised for high performance and security—a critical balance in the next stage of decentralized technology.
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