Ethereum emphasizes layer 1 efficiency and UX in upcoming protocol upgrades
Following leadership changes earlier this year, the Ethereum Foundation re-tuned its development strategy to address core protocol efficiency and user experience challenges.
Co-executive Director Tomasz Stańczak outlined the update’s focus areas in a public statement to X earlier today, highlighting that the shift aims to enhance Ethereum’s long-term scalability while improving near-term availability.
Protocol upgrades and revision roles for Vitalik Buterin
Stańczak describes the discussion around Ethereum’s grassroots roadmap as broad and community-driven, noting that these changes are designed to focus more attention between researchers and core developers. Stańczak wrote:
Our discussion of the first level expansion roadmap has been extensive, and the feedback so far shows that the community appreciates our ambitions. Turning this ambition into reality now depends on the focus of the core development team and researchers.
As part of its strategic transition, the Ethereum Foundation aims to provide Vitalik Buterin with more time to focus on advanced research rather than daily operational oversight.
“Our aim, among other things, is to free up more time for Vitalik research and exploration,” Stanchek said, adding that Butling’s recent work on topics such as RISC-V and ZKVM has been directing attention to potential “change technologies.”
According to Stańczak, these insights play a major role in realizing the long-term priorities of the Ethereum community, such as privacy, modularity and decentralized infrastructure.
Stańczak clarified that Buterin’s proposal is not the task of the mission, but the starting point for community-led exploration:
Vitalik’s advice will always bear weight, but they are designed to start the conversation and encourage progress in difficult research areas.
He also highlighted the importance of providing the same freedom for other researchers, and highlighted the ongoing work by contributors such as Justin Drake and Tankard Feist.
Comprehensive. The foundation’s research direction is now moving towards short-term outcomes, including better layer scaling, enhanced layer 2 integration and more “seamless” user experiences, especially in upcoming upgrades like Pectra, Fusaka and Glamsterdam.
RISC-V advice and developer flexibility
The foundation also evaluates the feasibility of a transition from an Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) to a more modern execution environment powered by RISC-V.
The proposal was originally proposed by Buterin, suggesting that RISC-V can simplify execution, increase efficiency and simplify zero-knowledge proof implementation.
“We are exploring how to come up with projects that look three to five years right now,” Stankak noted.
The benefits of RISC-V include broader language compatibility and the potential for backward compatibility with existing EVM contracts. Developers can continue to use rugged and assassinated or extend to languages like Rust.
Additionally, RISC-V can improve validator performance with hardware-level customization while maintaining core Ethereum features such as account models and contract interactions.
As research and experiments continue, Stańczak highlights the importance of community opinion: “Ethereum researchers often ask readers to recognize the exploratory nature of their positions and suggestions. The focus remains crucial.”
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