TLDR
- Vitalik Buterin unveiled a ‘Lean Ethereum’ roadmap covering the period from 2026 to 2029, comparing it in size to the 2022 Merge plan.
- The priority of quantum resistance has risen sharply, with a quantum safe bubble solution described as urgent
- Privacy is elevated from an optional feature to a top-tier primary goal
- A new virtual machine – either LeanISA or RISC-V – can be introduced alongside the existing EVM
- Critics question whether the Ethereum Foundation can meet the timeline, given its history of tight deadlines
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has published a new long-term roadmap for the Ethereum network, which he calls “Lean Ethereum.” The plan covers the period from 2026 to 2029 and touches almost all layers of the protocol.
Buterin posted the roadmap on X on Saturday, saying the upgrades will be rolled out over the next three to four years. He compared the scope of the changes to the September 2022 consolidation, when Ethereum moved away from energy-intensive mining.
Two weeks ago, Ethereum researchers met in Berlin to continue charting the long-term path for the protocol, following discussions with client teams in Svalbard in April.
The updated straw map is at https://t.co/HZEerH1xxII attached a picture of it to this post.
for me… pic.twitter.com/KPGayHSySf
— Vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 4, 2026
The roadmap was developed after a research meeting in Berlin, where Ethereum developers and researchers gathered to update the long-term technical direction of the network.
Quantitative safety becomes urgent
One of the biggest shifts in the new plan is the elevated priority given to quantum resistance. Buterin He said that quantum safety “has changed a lot in priority,” and that finalizing a quantum-safe solution for blobs “has become a matter of urgency.”
The roadmap calls for replacing all components at quantum risk via the protocol. Work on designing the quantum safe point is already underway.
Recursive STARKs are also set to be introduced as a core component of the first layer, replacing the current direct reexecution model used for verification.
Privacy goes to its core
Privacy has been upgraded from a plus to a first-class goal. It now extends to areas including memory design and state trees, Buterin said.
This transformation is one of the more structural changes in the roadmap. Previously, privacy tools on Ethereum were largely built on the application layer rather than integrated into the underlying protocol.
There’s also a new virtual machine on the table. Buterin said Ethereum A company may offer LeanISA or RISC-V alongside existing EVM, with the long-term goal of making the protocol layer more straightforward and streamlined.
On the consensus side, the roadmap targets 1-2 round finality by separating the availability chain from finality. This is intended to improve security and reduce access time.
As for the state layer, Buterin said that Ethereum’s current dynamic state will remain, while new state types will be added to increase scalability. By 2030, Ethereum is expected to hold 2TB of dynamic state plus 100TB of new state. Migrating applications such as tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to new state types can reduce gas fees by more than ten times.
Doubts about delivery
Not everyone is convinced the timeline is realistic. Researcher Dankrad Vest praised the plan but said the three-to-four-year period was too slow, suggesting that AI tools could help developers send out upgrades within a year.
Cryptocurrency analyst Ignace Fedorovas also supported the trend but raised doubts about the Ethereum Foundation’s ability to meet its deadlines, citing previous delays.
Fedorovas added that the roadmap is missing one key element: improving Ethereum tokens, which continued to decline in price during the recent market downturn.
The roadmap comes after the Ethereum Foundation cut nearly 20% of its staff last month, targeting a 40% budget cut. Several high-profile figures have also departed in recent months, including protocol contributors Tim Pico and Barnaby Mono.
