Vitalik Buterin Maps Out Ethereum's Deepest Rebuild Since the Move Away From Mining Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has unveiled a fresh multi-year vision for the network, calling it the most sweeping overhaul since Ethereum abandoned mining. The plan rebuilds nearly everything, from how the chain verifies itself to quantum defenses and data storage. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has set out a fresh vision for where the blockchain is headed over the next several years, describing it as the biggest rebuild since the network walked away from mining. In his words, Ethereum is now "reinventing itself." In a tweet on Saturday, Buterin shared what he had taken away from a recent gathering of Ethereum researchers in Berlin, and released a refreshed draft roadmap, dubbed the "strawmap," published at strawmap.org. He described "Lean Ethereum," first sketched out in 2025, as the protocol's third major iteration, ranking it alongside the 2022 Merge that moved Ethereum to proof-of-stake. Nearly every major component will be replaced over the coming three or four years, he said, but existing apps will not be forced to migrate to the new setup. Two weeks ago, Ethereum researchers came together in Berlin to keep charting the protocol's long-term direction, building on discussions with client teams held in Svalbard back in April. How the network will check itself The heart of the plan is a change in the way the network verifies itself. Today, every node has to re-execute every single transaction. Under the new approach, Ethereum would instead check a compact, precise cryptographic proof of the chain using recursive STARKs, a form of zero-knowledge proof that Buterin wants "enshrined" as a core piece of the protocol. He also proposed a simpler consensus offering finality in one or two rounds, along with multidimensional gas pricing and, eventually, a move beyond the EVM toward an instruction set such as RISC-V. Quantum safety, privacy and data storage Buterin said the threat posed by Q-Day has moved much higher up the agenda. Anything that is cryptographically vulnerable is due to be swapped out for quantum-safe alternatives, and he noted that work on quantum-resistant "blobs" has already been under way for months. Privacy, he wrote, is now a first-class goal rather than something bolted on afterward, and it is being built into pieces such as the mempool and the state tree from the start. The whole effort would rest on formal verification. The most disruptive change concerns data storage. Buterin painted a picture of a 2030 network holding roughly 2TB of today's flexible "dynamic" state alongside 100 terabytes of a new type of storage. This new form would be far more scalable but also more restrictive. It would suit tokens, NFTs and much of DeFi well, though it would be less suited to complex contracts like decentralized exchanges. Rewriting an ERC-20 token onto the new storage would not be mandatory, he said, but doing so could cut its fees by more than tenfold. The changes won't arrive all at once Buterin stressed that none of this lands in one go. The upcoming Hegotá fork, he said, will likely be Ethereum's last before the "Lean" era begins. Ahead of that, the nearer-term Glamsterdam upgrade is expected to bring a large gas-limit increase, with further gains in capacity and speed spread across roughly five years. The plan arrives at a difficult moment for the Ethereum Foundation itself. It recently cut 20% of its workforce and tightened its budget as part of a leaner reorganization. On top of that, earlier Ethereum upgrades repeatedly faced delays before they were finally implemented. What this means for you • For investors: This is a long-term roadmap, so it won't move ETH's price overnight, but a faster and cheaper network down the line could strengthen confidence in it. • For developers and users: Moving an ERC-20 token to the new storage won't be mandatory, but doing so could cut fees by more than tenfold, making transactions cheaper. Questions & Answers 1. What has Vitalik Buterin announced about Ethereum? He has laid out a new multi-year roadmap, calling it the biggest rebuild since Ethereum dropped mining and saying the network is reinventing itself. 2. What is Lean Ethereum? It is the protocol's third major iteration, first sketched out in 2025. Buterin considers it as significant as the 2022 Merge. 3. How will the way the network checks itself change? Instead of every node re-executing every transaction, Ethereum would verify a compact cryptographic proof of the chain using recursive STARKs. 4. Will existing apps be forced to migrate? No. Buterin said existing apps will not be forced to move onto the new setup. 5. What changes are planned for data storage? By 2030 the network would hold roughly 2TB of dynamic state alongside 100 terabytes of a new, more scalable but more restrictive type of storage. 6. Will all these changes arrive at once? No, they will roll out gradually over roughly five years. The upcoming Hegotá fork will likely be the last before the Lean era begins. 7. What is the state of the Ethereum Foundation right now? The Foundation recently cut 20% of its workforce and tightened its budget as part of a leaner reorganization. https://trendkia.com/en/technology/ethereum-khuda-ko-nae-sire-se-garha-raha-hai-vitalik-buterin-ne-rakha-merge-ke-bada-ka-sabase-bara-badalava-plana-5212 TrendKia — Har trend, sabse pehle.